Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI) announced today that the FDA has approved the company’s generic version of Lidoderm, a skin patch that delivers the painkiller lidocaine currently sold as a branded product by Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENDP). The approval and a settlement deal with Endo allows the generic version to go on sale in September of next year, with 25% royalties due to ENDP until the earlier of either another generic product entering the market, or 7.5 months from launch. Endo would have lost market exclusivity for Lidoderm in 2015 had patent litigation not been settled. (more…)