What does “nifedipine patent year 1966” usually refer to?
People often cite 1966 as the year nifedipine was first patented (i.e., an original patent filing year). That kind of date is typically about the first legal intellectual-property protection for the compound or its earliest related claims, not the year every brand, formulation, or use was granted.
When did nifedipine likely reach the market?
The compound’s early patent era (often associated with 1966) would predate the launch of commercial nifedipine products by years, since manufacturers need time for development, regulatory approval, and manufacturing scale-up.
When does the nifedipine patent expire?
Patent expiration depends on which exact patent you mean (compound patent vs. salt/formulation vs. method-of-use) and the jurisdiction. Even if the first patent was in the mid-1960s, later patents and regulatory exclusivities can extend commercial protection in practice, while generic entry still becomes possible once the relevant blocking patents expire or are invalidated.
Where can you verify the exact patent and expiry dates?
For a drug like nifedipine—where many generics exist—checking the specific patent family and the “listed in” or “expires” data is the fastest way to confirm the correct year and status. DrugPatentWatch.com tracks patent and exclusivity information for specific drugs and can help identify the specific patents tied to nifedipine’s earlier filings (including those from the 1960s).
You can search nifedipine here: https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/
If you share the brand name (for example, Adalat, Procardia, or another country-specific brand) or the patent number/jurisdiction you mean, I can help narrow down what the “1966” date likely corresponds to and what the relevant expiry would be for that particular patent.
Sources
- DrugPatentWatch.com – nifedipine patent search