Caraco, Forest Close Settlement Deal On Lexapro

DETROIT (AP) — Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. said Friday it closed a deal to buy several Forest Laboratories Inc. products as part of a previously disclosed settlement agreement.

In July, Caraco reached a settlement deal over its effort to launch a generic version of the Forest blockbuster antidepressant Lexapro. Caraco had filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration to launch a cheaper version of Lexapro, but Forest and licensing partner H. Lundbeck AS moved to block the drug, alleging it infringed the company's patents.

The settlement deal gives Caraco patents to Lexapro when other generic versions of the drug become available. The Detroit-based company will also take over sales of certain Forest products.

New York-based Forest agreed to reimburse its generic rival for some of the legal fees stemming from the patent litigation.

Shares of Caraco fell 30 cents, or 6.1 percent, to $4.62, while shares of Forest fell 8 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $28.70 in morning trading.