Oxycontin Expires today, April 16 2013. The “Patent Cliff” is not here on this one.

» The “Patent Cliff” and its Effects upon Workers’ Compensation Claims:

The Oxycontin patent expires today. 

So you would expect to be able to buy many people's favorite drug on the side of the road or on hill-tops, just above cliff level.

As with many things that are FDA approved and regulated, this is going to be a very slow ride down from the cliff, definitely not a one-time drop off.

First, this drug is highly abused and strongly regulated by the FDA. The FDA will have to approve any other generic drug... And the new (non-new) generic version will be regulated along with Oxycontin.

The manufacturer, Purdue, is trying to get a 6 month extension on the patent, in part because of tamper-proof nature of the way they think the drug should be sold in the future.

In short, the downward slope of the Oxycontin slope is not a cliff. It is not a Black Diamond. It is probably going to be more of a bunny slope... With not much competition and higher prices for several years.

Of course, if you are buying it on the black market, you wouldn't want a knock off, right?

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