Caraco to acquire rights to several drugs from Forest Labs

NEW YORK Generic drug maker Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs will acquire rights to several drugs from Forest Labs under an asset purchase agreement between the two companies.

Caraco announced the agreement Friday as part of a settlement that it and parent company Sun Pharmaceutical Industries had entered with Forest Labs and Danish drug maker H. Lundbeck concerning Caraco’s regulatory approval application for the anxiety and depression drug Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate). Lundbeck had licensed Lexapro to Forest on an exclusive basis in the United States.

Under the agreement, Caraco will take over commercialization and sale of several products from Forest’s Inwood business, paying Forest an advance against royalties. Meanwhile, Forest will reimburse Caraco for a portion of its legal fees and provide licenses to Caraco for certain Lexapro patents as soon as a third-party generic version with Food and Drug Administration approval hits the market.