Zohydro Patent Ruling Could Mean Pain for Opioid Maker Pernix

Alvogen Malta Operations Ltd. may be able to launch generic competition to Pernix Therapeutics LLC’s opioid capsule Zohydro soon.

Alvogen’s proposed generic version of the painkiller infringed Pernix’s patents, but those patents weren’t valid, a federal court in Delaware said. The ruling could mean Alvogen will be able to launch its generic version of Zohydro as early as Oct. 1, 2019, once the company gets final approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

But what’s good news for Alvogen is bad news for Pernix because Zohydro (hydrocodone bitartrate) is one of Pernix’s core products. In January, Pernix reorganized its ...