By Marius Meland

Law360, New York (December 22, 2005, 12:00 AM ET) -- Pharmaceutical company Cephalon Inc. dropped its lawsuit Thursday against generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. over the sleeping disorder treatment Provigil.

As part of the agreement, Pennsylvania-based Cephalon has given Ranbaxy the green light to begin production of generic Provigil by October 2011, the same timetable it granted to Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. earlier this month.

However, the non-exclusive, royalty-bearing license that settles the case for Ranbaxy could be triggered as late as April 2012 if Cephalon is granted a patent exclusivity extension for studying...