By doing so, the generic drugmaker limits its exposure to the end of the patent cliff.
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The goal of a generic drugmaker wouldn't be to actually overturn a big drug firm's patents.
Often, that settlement comes with a sizeable payment from the brand-name company to the generic drugmaker.
Meanwhile, generic drugmaker Watson Pharmaceuticals has filed its own suit against Bristol-Myers over BuSpar.
But another generic drugmaker, Bedford Labs , came out of nowhere with its own announcement to make paclitaxel.
Ranbaxy, a generic drugmaker in Gurgaon, India, was looking to make knockoffs, arguing that two Lipitor patents were invalid.
Apotex, the privately held generic drugmaker that is making the knockoff, said that Plavix generics hit the market today.
Bristol-Myers Squibb's board ousted Chief Executive PeterDolanPeter Dolan and General Counsel RichardWillardRichard Willard over their handling of negotiations with Apotex, a Canadian generic drugmaker.
Generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories will make the biggest, 80-milligram dose, which is rarely used because of an increase in side effects with high doses of the drug.
Bristol-Myers Squibb 's board ousted Chief Executive Peter Dolan and General Counsel Richard Willard over their handling of negotiations with Apotex, a Canadian generic drugmaker.
If generic drugmaker Andrx and the other defendants win, their stocks and profits will rise, while Astra's earnings will likely suffer and the firm could become takeover bait.
It is the world's biggest generic drugmaker, but nearly a fifth of its sales in 2010 came from a patented blockbuster, Copaxone, a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis.
The antidepressant's patent runs out on Aug. 2, at which point you can bet generic drugmaker Barr Laboratories (nyse: BRL - news - people) of Pomona, N.
Ranbaxy , a generic drugmaker based in Gurgaon, India, is challenging two key patents on Lipitor in the hopes of selling its own version of the drug at a lower price.
Compared to the past few years, there will simply not be as many big-selling brand-name medicines losing patent protection, which means generic drugmakers cannot simply jumpstart growth by acquiring another generic drugmaker.
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But a year ago, generic drugmaker Barr Laboratories (nyse: BRL - news - people ) won a court case allowing it to make a copycat version of Prozac earlier than expected.
If you think a generic drugmaker supplying the government with more than a billion antibiotic pills to safeguard against anthrax outbreaks would be a sure way to make big money on the deal, you're probably wrong.
Bristol-Myers Squibb was handed a defeat in a patent lawsuit, which will allow generic drugmaker Mylan Laboratories (nyse: MYL - news - people) to make a lower-cost version of BuSpar, Bristol's fifth best-selling drug.
However, investors may be worried about patent challenges brought against Lipitor by generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Labs (nasdaq: RBXY - news - people ), even though most analysts view Ranbaxy's chances of launching a generic before 2010 as unlikely.
Generic drugmaker Able Labs (nasdaq: ABRX - news - people ) is also high on Oberweis' list of top buys, along with chemical and pharmaceutical firm Aceto (nasdaq: ACET - news - people ) as well as medical testing company Biosite (nasdaq: BSTE - news - people ).
Billions of dollars could be lost to competitors or generic versions if a drugmaker fails to entice most patients into switching ahead of time.
Andrx (nasdaq: ADRX - news - people) was already hoping Altocor would help it become a bona fide drugmaker and escape the generic drug ghetto.
Peter Dolan lost his job as Bristol's chief executive over the botched negotiation that allowed Canadian drugmaker Apotex to launch a generic version of Plavix at almost no financial risk.
Because the drug is off patent, the drugmaker has to deal with competition and generic versions of the drug.
Simply put, a brand-name drugmaker agrees to pay a settlement to a generic rival in exchange for ending patent litigation and launching a copycat medicine at a future date.
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However, Pfizer points out that 61 decisions in 23 states have ruled against claims that tried to hold a brand-name drugmaker responsible for injuries allegedly caused by a generic version of Reglan.
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For six months, under U.S. law, Israel-based drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will be allowed to sell generic Zocor in widely used doses.
's first-quarter net income rose 53 percent despite growing generic drug competition as the world's second-largest drugmaker benefited from a gain related to a joint venture with China.
Ranbaxy, a Japanese-owned drugmaker, struggled to get regulators' approval for its generic version of Lipitor, and only won it on the day the patent expired.
Glaxo (nyse: GSK - news - people ), Europe's biggest drugmaker, plans to appeal the ruling, which could put generic versions on pharmacy shelves as early as the end of June.
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