Ontario urges feds not to allow generic OxyContin onto market

Michelle Siu for the Globe and Mail

Saturday, July 7, 2012 – Globe and Mail

ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY

Ontario is “strongly urging” the federal government not to let generic brands of the popular painkiller OxyContin into Canada once Purdue Pharmaceuticals’ patent runs out this fall.

The expiration of Purdue’s OxyContin patent on Nov. 25 opens the door for other companies to manufacture cheaper generic versions of the controlled-release oxycodone. Purdue will continue to make a new, tamper-resistant patented drug – OxyNEO – introduced to replace OxyContin earlier this year.

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