Extended-release drugs treat everything from hypertension to depression, but for the pharmaceutical industry, they’re more an antiaging remedy. As the patent on an original drug nears expiration, drug companies will typically patent a new formulation that combines the active ingredient with a mechanism that streams the medication into the body more slowly. Patients need to take fewer pills daily, and the companies build a market for the new drug before generic versions of the old appear.

Up until now, the strategy has worked beautifully. According to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical market intelligence firm, in 2006 a handful of extended-release products topped the billion-dollar mark in sales, including the antidepressants Effexor XR ($2.6 billion) and Wellbutrin XL ($1.9 billion), and the attention-deficit medication Adderall XR ($1.1 billion).

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