Generic entry timeline

LETROZOLE generics — when can they launch?

LETROZOLE (LETROZOLE) · · 11 active US patents · 0 expired

Earliest patent expiry
2028-06-17
2 years remaining
Full patent estate to
2036-04-14
complete protection through 2036
FDA approval
1997

Where LETROZOLE sits in the generic timeline

Imminent generic cliff: earliest active US patent for LETROZOLE expires in 2028 (~2 years from today). ANDA filers are likely already preparing Paragraph IV certifications. Expect first-filer 180-day exclusivity competition imminently.

Under US Hatch-Waxman, a generic enters via an ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) and may file with one of four Paragraph IV certifications attacking the brand's listed patents. If the brand sues within 45 days, a 30-month FDA approval stay is triggered. First Para IV filer typically gets 180-day market exclusivity.

Patent estate by type — active patents

Method-of-use patents only carve out specific indications; generics can launch with a "skinny label" omitting those uses. Composition-of-matter patents block the molecule itself.

  • Composition of Matter — 4 patents
  • Method of Use — 4 patents
  • Formulation — 3 patents

FDA U-codes carved out by LETROZOLE patents

Method-of-use patents are listed against specific FDA Patent Use Codes ("U-codes") representing carved-out indications. Generics can launch with a label that omits these uses.

U-codeDescription
U-2505(no description)
U-3998(no description)
U-3264(no description)

Sample patent estate

Showing 6 of 11 active US patents. View full estate on the LETROZOLE drug page →

  • US8324225 Composition of Matter · expires 2028-06-17
    This patent protects pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their derivatives that inhibit protein kinases, useful in treating proliferative diseases.
    USPTO title: Pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses
  • US9416136 Method of Use · expires 2029-08-20
    This patent protects methods of using pyrrolopyrimidine compounds to treat or prevent symptoms of various disorders, including cancer, transplant rejections, and autoimmune diseases.
    USPTO title: Pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses
  • US8962630 Method of Use · expires 2029-12-09
    This patent protects the use of pyrrolopyrimidine compounds for treating or preventing symptoms of cancer, transplant rejections, and autoimmune diseases.
    USPTO title: Pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses
  • US8685980 Composition of Matter · expires 2030-05-25
    This patent protects pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses in treating protein kinase-associated disorders, cancer, transplant rejections, and autoimmune diseases.
    USPTO title: Pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses
  • US8415355 Composition of Matter · expires 2031-03-13
    This patent protects novel pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses, including pharmaceutical compositions and treatments for diseases associated with CDK 4 inhibition.
    USPTO title: Pyrrolopyrimidine compounds and their uses
  • US9193732 Composition of Matter · expires 2031-11-09
    This patent protects a process for making a specific compound, its novel salts, and pharmaceutical compositions containing it, which is related to the drug substance LETROZOLE.
    USPTO title: Salt(s) of 7-cyclopentyl-2-(5-piperazin-1-yl-pyridin-2-ylamino)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-D]pyrimidine-6-carboxylic acid dimethylamide and processes of making thereof

Sources

Patent term extensions (PTR, pediatric exclusivity), Hatch-Waxman 30-month stays, and FDA regulatory exclusivity (NCE/ODE/PED) may shift the effective generic entry date. Not legal advice.

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