Forest Laboratories Inc announced that it had received notification from Alphapharm Pty. Ltd. that it has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with a Paragraph IV Certification for a generic equivalent to Lexapro.

Howard Solomon, chairman and chief executive officer said, "We believe our patents on Lexapro are valid and strong patents and we therefore do not expect a generic product to be available until at least after the expiration of our substance patent, including patent extension, which will be in 2011. The early filing of ANDAs against well patented products by generic companies has become standard practice."