Cipla launches copy of GSK's top asthma drug in Germany, Sweden

Cipla Ltd has launched an anti-asthma inhaler in Germany and Sweden that is a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Advair, a move that will further dent sales of the British firm's top-selling product.

Cipla's drug will be marketed under the name Serrofloin in Germany and Salmeterol/Fluticasone Cipla in Sweden, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement on Monday.

In December, Denmark became the first European country to approve for sale a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's $8 billion-a-year Advair, and analysts have been expecting more such approvals.

Making copies of inhaled drugs such as Advair is a challenge because of the complexity of making a device that effectively delivers the medicine directly into the lungs.