When do Prescriptions lose their Patent Protection. ? Meaning when can others construct it for a ton cheaper?
For example EFFEXOR has been around (a) lowest possible 10 years... cause i took it in 1998, all the same it still doesnt have a generic, effexor xr Doez But Effexor dont, so how long is it? I have hear 8 years, 14, cant be 8 cause Effexor wuld hav one by now after... so WHO KNOWS?
Answer: The rules on patent expiration changed sometime in the 90's. It used to be that patent were valid for 17 years from the issue date. Now, in common, they are valid for 20 years from the date the application was filed.
However, in attendance are some other issues. If the patent office took longer than it should enjoy (and it almost always does) the applicant is granted a "patent possession extension" to compensate for that delay.
Additionally, because the FDA can also be quite slow, the permanent status of a patent might be extended to compensate for delays at the FDA (it doesn't do you any accurate to have a patent for 20 years if the FDA take 15 years to approve it).
So, it depends. You'll probably have better luck googling for articles that discuss when effexor is going to go "sour patent".
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When they first come up with the "molecule", they patent it at that time. They next have 7 years to bring it to market. Then the can renew the exclusive rights once more for another 7 years. So a total of 14 years, from the time of invention till the patent expires. Drug patent in the U.S. are normally roughly speaking 20 years in length. The clock starts at the point of drug discovery. It looks like the expiration date is within the year 2010.