Patent on Valium Expires

WASHINGTON â€”  Hoffmann-La Roche’s patent on the widely used tranquilizer Valium has expired, clearing the way for other pharmaceutical companies to seek federal approval to manufacture the drug on a generic basis.

John Doorley, a spokesman at Hoffmann-La Roche’s Nutley, N.J., headquarters, said the patent for the drug diazepam, in the Swiss-based firm’s hands since 1963, expired at midnight Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration must give its approval before anyone else can sell diazepam.