Bentley gets Europe OKs

Bentley Pharmaceuticals announced Monday that its European subsidiaries have received a dozen approvals to market a number of generic drugs used to combat depression, cholesterol and enlarged prostate glands.

The Exeter-based firm said its approval to market Citalopram, the generic version of the antidepressant drug Celexa, may be particularly lucrative. The market size for that class of drugs is approximately $540 million, of which Citalopram accounts for $48.7 million, an 8 percent growth over the past year.

The company also received approval to market Finasteride, used to treat prostrate glands, and Pravastatin, a cholesterol-reducing agent.

The Exeter-based drug company said that that brings to 51 the total of 51 European approvals received over the past 12 months, 21 of which were in Spain. – BOB SANDERS