Chennai-based pharma major, Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceutical Ltd announced the settlement of the patent litigation with Forest Laboratories, Inc relating to Memantine tablets, Orchid's generic version of Forest Laboratories, Inc's Namenda tablets used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Pursuant to this settlement, Orchid would be free to commercially launch this product in January, 2015, or earlier in certain circumstances. Additional terms of the settlement are confidential, and the agreement is subject to review by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, the company stated in a press release.

Orchid had in 2007 filed a Paragraph-IV certification, contesting that the patent was invalid or had not been infringed, resulting in the subsequent litigation with Forest.

Namenda (Memantine) recorded sales of approximately US$ 950 million during the year 2009 in the USA.