Yes, all the time. A good example is claritin. IIRC when the patents for claritin expired, the drug makers patented the metabolite, which they called clarinex. Then they declared that all generic versions of claritin were illegal, because they become clarinex in the body when swallowed.
Incorrect. It took several years to resolve, over which time the con artists at Schering-Plough (now Merck) stole several billion dollars from consumers, none of which has ever been reimbursed.
Several billion dollars isn't really that much money in consumer terms. American consumers spend something like a billion dollars on scented candles each year.
Besides, it doesn't seem to me like there was much of a delay at all in getting generic loratadine to consumers:
The patent expired in December 2002 and Geneva/Novartis had first-challenger exclusivity for 6 months. By August 2003, only a month or so later, the lawsuit was decided and the floodgates opened.
