Noctiva Generic: When Will Generic Desmopressin Be Available?
This page is aggregated from FDA records, court filings and company announcements. Coded and designed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Updated October 9, 2026 How we build our data
Noctiva Generic at a Glance
Four quick answers from FDA records and our estimate.
- When is the first generic expected? June 2030 About 3.5 years away Why then?
- Has the FDA approved a generic? January 1999 2 companies approved
- When does the last patent end? June 2030 3 patents listed with the FDA
- Can you buy a generic today? Yes 7 companies list one
It already is. A generic desmopressin acetate is listed for sale by 7 companies, so ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with one.
Why June 2030?
It is when Noctiva’s patent 9,539,302 ends. That patent covers the product’s formulation, and once it ends, generics can go on sale as soon as the FDA approves them. We rate it probable: more likely than not, but it can still move.
What should I do now?
Ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with a generic. It may look different from Noctiva, but the active ingredient, strength and form are the same. What a generic means for you
Our month is only an estimate based on available information, so we never name a day.
Noctiva by the Numbers
- Reason
- Patent expiresA patent that protects the brand runs out. After that, approved generics can be sold.
- How sure
- Probable More likely than not, but it can still move.
- Price competition
- None filed yet No filers on record
- Brand sales
- Sales not reported
- FDA approved 2017 March 2017 FDA Orange Book
- Patents listed 3 last runs to June 2030 FDA Orange Book
- Generics FDA-approved 2 companies, the first approved January 1999 FDA Orange Book
Noctiva’s Road to a Generic
Noctiva has had the market to itself since the FDA approved it in March 2017 (Acerus Pharmaceuticals USA LLC). Its 3 listed patents run to June 2030.
The first generic of Noctiva is expected in June 2030.
Why that month: patent 9,539,302, on the product’s formulation, ends then.
Each bar runs from the brand’s approval to the day that protection ends. The green band is our projection for the first generic: a month, never a day, because legal dates move and a generic reaches shelves days to weeks after it is allowed. Sources: FDA Orange Book; the expected month from court records and company announcements.
Noctiva Patents and FDA Protections
Every patent and exclusivity the FDA Orange Book lists for Noctiva’s own applications. A protection running past the expected month does not mean the date is wrong: a settlement or a court ruling can let a generic in before a patent ends, and a patent on one formulation or use does not block every generic.
The one that matters for a generic launch: patent 9,539,302, which ends in June 2030, the month the first generic is expected.
| Patent | What it covers | Protects until | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9,539,302 Sets the expected month of generic availability | The product’s formulation | June 2030 | Active |
| 11,419,914 | A way of using it (U-3431) | June 2030 | Active |
| 12,090,190 | The product’s formulation; a way of using it (U-4003) | June 2030 | Active |
Source: FDA Orange Book, application 201656. Patent numbers open the patent on Google Patents.
Who Is Lined Up to Make Generic Desmopressin Acetate
Three steps stand between a brand and a generic you can buy: a company applies to the FDA, the FDA approves it, and the company starts selling it.
Applied to the FDA
No application count is on record for Noctiva, but the FDA has already approved 2 companies (step 2), and every approval starts with an application.
Approved by the FDA
The FDA has approved generic versions from 2 companies, the first in January 1999. Approved is not the same as on sale: patents, a settlement or the company’s own plans can still hold a launch.
For Sale in Pharmacies
Yes. A generic desmopressin acetate is listed for sale by 7 companies. Ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with it.
Apotex Corp., Bauch & Lomb Incorporated, Bryant Ranch Prepack, Oceanside Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc., Zydus Lifesciences Limited and 1 more
| Company | First approved | Strengths | Rated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apotex Inc | January 2005 | 0.01MG/SPRAY | AB |
| Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc | October 2017 | 0.01MG/SPRAY | AB |
| Bausch Health US LLC discontinued | January 1999 | 0.01MG/SPRAY | – |
| Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd discontinued | April 2012 | 0.01%, 0.01MG/SPRAY | – |
Sources: how many companies have applied, from court records and company announcements; approved generics from the FDA Orange Book; tentative approvals from Drugs@FDA; what is for sale from the FDA NDC Directory. The FDA does not disclose an application before it approves it (21 CFR 314.430).
Noctiva Price: What Pharmacies Pay and What Generics Usually Do
What a Generic Could Cost
How we estimate it. The national survey of what pharmacies pay (NADAC) has no recent price for Noctiva, so we cannot show dollars. Here is the FDA’s finding of how far the price pharmacies pay usually falls as generic companies join: about 31% with one company, 44% with two, 73% with four and over 95% with six or more (the typical drop for every drug whose first generic came out from 2015 to 2017).
Median prices pharmacies paid for the generic (invoice prices), compared with the brand’s price before generic entry, from FDA’s 2019 analysis “Generic Competition and Drug Prices”. At the manufacturer’s price FDA found steeper drops (about 39%, 54%, 79% and over 95%), the figures quoted elsewhere on this tracker. A typical pattern, not a price quote for this medicine.
Noctiva Strengths and Forms
| Strength | Form | How it is taken | Approved | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00083MG/SPRAY | Spray, metered | Nasal | March 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
| 0.00166MG/SPRAY | Spray, metered | Nasal | March 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
Source: FDA Orange Book, Acerus Pharmaceuticals USA LLC.
What a Generic Noctiva Means for You
Nothing Changes Until It Is in Pharmacies
A generic is listed for sale now, so your pharmacy may already be able to fill your prescription with it.
Your Pharmacy May Switch You Automatically
Every state lets pharmacists fill a brand-name prescription with an FDA-approved generic rated as equivalent to it, and about 19 states require them to, unless your prescriber writes “dispense as written” or “brand medically necessary” on the prescription. Some states ask the pharmacist to tell you, or to get your OK first. A study of every state’s law has the details.
It Will Probably Look Different
US trademark law does not let a generic look exactly like the brand, so the color, shape or markings usually change. The active ingredient, strength and form are the same. An “authorized generic,” made by or for the brand’s own company, can look identical. The FDA explains.
Your Insurance May Change Too
Once a lower-cost version is available, many insurance plans charge more for the brand, or stop covering it. Your plan’s drug list (formulary) says how.
Questions people ask about Noctiva
Is there a generic for Noctiva right now?
Yes. The FDA NDC Directory lists a generic desmopressin acetate from 7 companies. Ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with it.
When will Noctiva go generic?
It already has. The FDA NDC Directory lists a generic desmopressin acetate from 7 companies, so ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with one.
Will generic desmopressin acetate be the same as Noctiva?
Yes in the ways that matter: the same active ingredient, strength and form, with proof that it reaches your blood the same way. Inactive ingredients can differ, which is why some people notice a different look or taste.
How much will the generic cost?
Nobody can say for sure before launch. The FDA has already approved 2 companies to make a generic, and how many of them launch decides how far the price falls.
Has the FDA approved a generic Noctiva?
Yes. The FDA Orange Book lists approved generic versions from 2 companies, the first approved in January 1999: Apotex Inc and Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. Approved is not the same as on sale: patents, a settlement or the company’s own plans can still hold a launch.
When does the Noctiva patent expire?
The FDA Orange Book lists 3 patents for Noctiva; the last runs to June 2030. The one behind the expected month is patent 9,539,302, which ends in June 2030. A patent date is not the launch date: settlements and court rulings often bring a generic earlier, and FDA approval or a company’s own plans can make it later. The expected month on this page (June 2030) weighs all of that.
Changes to This Projection
- First generic expected June 2030 on this month’s schedule. A line is added here whenever a monthly update moves the month, the reason or how sure it is.
Every change to the expected month is logged here with the month we saw it.
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About Noctiva
- Generic name desmopressin acetate
- How it is taken In the nose
- Company Acerus Pharmaceuticals USA LLC
- Hard to copy Inhalers, injectables, patches and other hard-to-copy products. Fewer companies attempt them and dates slip more often.
- More drugs Brand-name drugs starting with N
- Have a question? A pharmacist answers, free. Ask about Noctiva
Sources. The expected month: FDA Paragraph IV Patent Certifications list, federal court records, company announcements and securities filings (settlement dates, launch plans, sales). The record on this page: FDA Orange Book, Drugs@FDA (tentative approvals), FDA NDC Directory, FDA, Generic Competition and Drug Prices (2019). Updated October 9, 2026. Information, not medical advice.