NEW YORK (AP) — Forest Laboratories Inc. said Tuesday its net income dropped 79 percent in the fiscal first quarter after its antidepressant Lexapro lost patent protection, allowing other companies to sell low-cost versions of the drug.
Generic versions of Lexapro went on sale in February and March, and Forest's revenue from the drug plunged 81 percent in the first quarter, to $110 million. The company said in June that the competing generics were selling for lower prices than it had expected, and they were also taking a slightly larger share of the market than Forest had projected. Forest still sells the brand name version of Lexapro, and it gets some revenue from sales of Mylan Inc.'s company-approved generic.
Forest also reported greater costs related to the sales of drugs it launched in 2011.
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