24 January 2012 - Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO), a US-based specialty pharmaceutical company, said on Monday that it had been informed by Actavis Elizabeth LLC that Actavis had sought approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic version of Gralise (gabapentin), 300 mg and 600 mg tablets.

Actavis' application is based on the assumption that Depomed's six US patents for Gralise listed in the FDA Orange Book, the latest of which is valid through 2024, will not be infringed by the generic version of the product, or are invalid or unenforceable.

Depomed said that it is currently evaluating the notice from Actavis and plans to vigorously defend its intellectual property rights.