1. No more generic extended-release oxycodone hydro-chloride products will reach the U.S. market until April 2013, when the last of Purdue Pharma LP's patents on OxyContin tablets expires, the company informed pharmacists in March. A federal court in early January ruled that Purdue's patents for OxyContin are enforceable. The court's ruling does not affect the ability of pharmacies to dispense their supplies of generic extended-release oxycodone products, a Purdue pharmacist said.rn2. Medtronic Inc. in March started marketing its Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent for use in increasing the diameter of a coronary artery lumen in patients with ischemic heart disease. The drug, which is not available as a separate product, is an antiproliferative agent that helps to limit the growth of scar tissue around the stent after implantation. As with other drug-eluting coronary stents, the zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent must not be implanted in patients who cannot receive recommended antiplatelet and anticoagulation therapies.
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