Info for Rhonda

[Guest guest]

Naltrexone was originally synthesized in 1963 and patented in 1967

as " Endo 1639A " by Endo Laboratories, a small pharmaceutical

company in Long Island, NY, a company with extensive experience in

narcotics.

In 1969, DuPont purchased Endo Labs. (DuPont had been struggling to

develop its pharmaceutical business since the late 1950s, and the

acquisition of Endo provided DuPont with valuable expertise in

manufacturing and marketing.)

Through an agreement with the FDA, Dupont held the exclusive rights

to manufacture and market naltrexone in 50mg pills, which they brand-

named Revia.

In 1997, however, Dupont's exclusive marketing rights lapsed, which

meant that other companies were now free to manufacture and market

generic naltrexone.

In May 1998, the first generic version of ReVia was produced by Barr

Laboratories in Pomona NY.

In 2001, Bristol Myers Squibb acquired Dupont Pharmaceuticals for

$7.8 billion. In April 2002, Bristol Myers Squibb sold the ReVia

brand-name rights to Barr Laboratories, which meant that Barr could

now stamp the name " Revia " on the generic medication they were

already producing.

Neither Dupont nor BMS currently manufacture naltrexone.

In October 2001, Barr merged with Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Duramed is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barr Labs.

As of February 2005, Barr manufactures ReVia in 50mg pills. They

are the only company with rights to the name. Duramed is their

subsidiary.

Confusing, I know.

Generic versions of naltrexone are also manufactured by Eon Labs and

Amide Pharmaceutical. Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals manufactures

50mg and 100mg naltrexone pills under the trade name Depade. Other

generic versions of naltrexone are named Naltima (manufactured by

INTAS) and Narpan (manufactured by Duopharma in Malaysia).

I hope this helps... but I think it's probably confusing.

-- Maureen