Posted by Jack Smith on July 7, 2003, at 14:06:54
In reply to Re: provigil » utopizen, posted by blondegirl47 on July 7, 2003, at 13:48:31
Provigil could conceivably go generic before 2006 because it already has a longer-term protection on it because of special laws for "orphan diseases." Modafinil was discovered over twenty years ago so it should not even still be protected.
As for the 2013 figure--there's no chance it will stay protected that long. Cephalon has a method patent on the way provigil is made. This is a bogus patent that won't hold up. It's essentially a way to get a patent on something that already has been discovered. Method patents are valid but they usually involve very complex engineering techniques. I have never heard of one for the method of creating a molecule.
Lilly tried the same thing with prozac. It got a patent in 1991 for the method of using prozac in humans. It therefore tried to stop generics based on that patent. Lilly did tie up the generics in litigation but ultimately paid a price for it as the court sanctioned it for bringing a frivolous claim.
JACK
See articles below for more info.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2003/02/03/daily33.html
poster:Jack Smith
thread:239859
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030701/msgs/239888.html