BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Forest Laboratories, Lundbeck, Sun Pharmaceutical neurology news

July 20, 2009 7:00 AM UTC

To settle a 2006 patent infringement suit over Forest's antidepressant Lexapro escitalopram, Forest granted Sun's Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. (NYSE-A:CPD, Detroit, Mich.) subsidiary a license to market a generic version of the allosteric serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Caraco's license takes effect the date that any third party generic enters the market. Caraco also will take over commercialization of several generic products marketed by Forest's Inwood Laboratories Inc. subsidiary, and Forest will receive an undisclosed advance against royalties on these products. Lundbeck, which granted Forest exclusive rights to Lexapro in the U.S., will receive a worldwide license from Sun for certain patent applications related to the synthesis of escitalopram and citalopram. Forest markets Celexa citalopram, also an SSRI, to treat depression under a license from Lundbeck. ...