Wyeth, Osmotica settle Effexor patent case

MADISON, N.J. Wyeth has settled a patent-infringement case with Osmotica Pharmaceuticals over its antidepressant drug Effexor XR, according to published reports.

Under the terms of the deal Osmotica will pay royalties to Wyeth on some of its patents in exchange for launching a generic version of the drug’s extended-release version. The drug though will not be an exact copy of the drug because it will be available in a tablet not capsule form like Sun Pharmaceuticals generic version.

The two companies are launching a tablet form in hopes of getting into the multi-billion dollar sales of the drug sooner. The major patent for Effexor expires in June, but the capsule patent expires much later, so the companies are using this to their advantage. Pharmacists though won’t be able to simply generically substitute this medication for Effexor unlike other generic versions of drugs.

Effexor generated sales of $3.8 billion last year, making it Wyeth’s biggest selling drug.