Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have announced that a U.S. court has granted 180 days of exclusivity for selling a generic version of Risperdal – a widely used schizophrenia drug patented by Johnson & Johnson. The drug, which is also used to treat bipolar mania, had U.S. sales of about $2.5 billion in 2007.
The first generic to challenge a patented drug gets an exclusivity period for 6 months. Once the exclusivity period finishes, other generic manufacturers generally compete and prices plummet.
