OxyContin Maker, Purdue Pharma L.P., Guards Exclusivity

OxyContin is set to go off patent next year, but the maker of the powerful and widely abused prescription painkiller is trying to extend its exclusive rights to the drug, arguing that a new version it spent $100 million to develop might substantially curtail abuse. Whether Purdue Pharma LP will be able to protect its reformulated OxyContin will be decided by the courts. The company has 16 patent-infringement lawsuits pending against 10 generic-drug manufacturers, including Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.