Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories will launch anti-diabetic drug Actos in the US by 2012. Ranbaxy, majority owned by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, has settled litigation with the country's Takeda Pharmaceutical over a generic equivalent version of the medicine and received a non-exclusive royalty free licence for its US patents covering Actos.

The agreement will allow Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals to bring to patients with diabetes a generic alternative in this therapeutic area. Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy, is based in Florida and engaged in the sale and distribution of generic and branded prescription products in the US.