The F.D.A., ever obliging, agreed, blocking any low-cost generic competition for Purdue.
Evergreening could delay generic competition for up to 20 years, the report found.
[Astra's] 2009 profit will have been boosted by the windfall of no generic competition for a full quarter".
Abbott Laboratories reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales on Wednesday that were hurt by generic competition for an antiseizure drug.
Patents enable drug companies to market their products, free from generic competition, for a set period of time.
Critics say that some companies have delayed generic competition for years by repeatedly seeking 30-month delays.
At the same time, Abbott is facing generic competition for Hytrin, a drug for high blood pressure and prostate problems.
Next spring, it expects to face generic competition for Prilosec, the best-selling ulcer treatment, which it sells with AstraZeneca.
The agreements are also affected by a peculiar condition in the law that legalized generic competition for prescription drugs.
Facing generic competition for its "little blue pill," Pfizer recently started selling a chewable form of Viagra in Mexico.
For the future, it would be wise to foster generic competition for biological drugs and allow government programs to negotiate for lower prices on drugs with no competitors.
