Purdue Battles Generics, Early
Executive Summary
The envy that many people in the biotech and pharma industry felt in the late 1990s when Purdue Pharma's revenues skyrocketed on sales of OxyContin was replaced by compassion, as the company struggled to deal with illegal use and abuse of the painkiller. Now Purdue is battlling a court ruling--sparked by would-be generic competitor Endo Pharmaceuticals--that finds the patents on Purdue's most important product are unenforceable. The company is confident it will prevail and enjoy another nine years of patent protection for OxyContin.