Vantrela ER Generic: When Will Generic Hydrocodone 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
Vantrela ER Generic at a Glance
Four quick answers from FDA records and our estimate.
- When is the first generic expected? TBD no date yet What opens the door is not settled yet
- Has the FDA approved a generic? January 2020 1 company approved
- When does the last patent end? July 2029 3 patents listed with the FDA
- Can you buy a generic today? Yes 1 company lists one
It already is. A generic hydrocodone bitartrate is listed for sale by 1 company, so ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with one.
What should I do now?
Ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with a generic. It may look different from Vantrela ER, 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.
Vantrela ER by the Numbers
- Reason
- Not yet clearNo generic application is on record yet. The month follows the patents and protections on record, which a challenge or a deal can end early.
- How sure
- Not rated Too early to rate.
- Price competition
- None filed yet No filers on record
- Brand sales
- Sales not reported
- FDA approved 2017 January 2017 FDA Orange Book
- Patents listed 3 last runs to July 2029 FDA Orange Book
- Generics FDA-approved 1 company, approved January 2020 FDA Orange Book
Vantrela ER’s Road to a Generic
Vantrela ER has had the market to itself since the FDA approved it in January 2017 (Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R And D Inc). Its 3 listed patents run to July 2029.
No generic application is on record yet. The month follows the patents and protections on record, which a challenge or a deal can end early.
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.
Vantrela ER Patents and FDA Protections
Every patent and exclusivity the FDA Orange Book lists for Vantrela ER’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.
| Patent | What it covers | Protects until | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9,216,176 | The product’s formulation | September 2027 | Active |
| 9,572,803 | The product’s formulation | September 2027 | Active |
| 8,445,018 | The product’s formulation | July 2029 | Active |
Source: FDA Orange Book, application 207975. Patent numbers open the patent on Google Patents.
Who Is Lined Up to Make Generic Hydrocodone Bitartrate
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 Vantrela ER, but the FDA has already approved 1 company (step 2), and every approval starts with an application.
The FDA has tentatively approved one company’s generic: Actavis Labs Fl Inc (April 2017). A tentative approval means the generic is ready, but a patent or exclusivity still stops the FDA from giving it final approval.
Approved by the FDA
The FDA has approved generic versions from 1 company, the first in January 2020. 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 hydrocodone bitartrate is listed for sale by 1 company. Ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with it.
Alvogen Inc.
| Company | First approved | Strengths | Rated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alvogen Inc | January 2020 | 10MG, 15MG, 20MG, 30MG, 40MG, 50MG, 60MG, 80MG, 100MG, 120MG | AB |
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).
Vantrela ER 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 Vantrela ER, 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.
Vantrela ER Strengths and Forms
| Strength | Form | How it is taken | Approved | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15MG | Tablet, extended release | Oral | January 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
| 30MG | Tablet, extended release | Oral | January 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
| 45MG | Tablet, extended release | Oral | January 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
| 60MG | Tablet, extended release | Oral | January 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
| 90MG | Tablet, extended release | Oral | January 2017 | Discontinued reference product |
Source: FDA Orange Book, Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R And D Inc.
What a Generic Vantrela ER 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 Vantrela ER
Is there a generic for Vantrela ER right now?
Yes. The FDA NDC Directory lists a generic hydrocodone bitartrate from 1 company. Ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with it.
When will Vantrela ER go generic?
It already has. The FDA NDC Directory lists a generic hydrocodone bitartrate from 1 company, so ask your pharmacy whether it can fill your prescription with one.
Will generic hydrocodone bitartrate be the same as Vantrela ER?
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 one company to make a generic, and how many of them launch decides how far the price falls.
Has the FDA approved a generic Vantrela ER?
Yes. The FDA Orange Book lists approved generic versions from 1 company, the first approved in January 2020: Alvogen 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 Vantrela ER patent expire?
The FDA Orange Book lists 3 patents for Vantrela ER; the last runs to July 2029. 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 window on this page (a date that is not known yet) weighs all of that.
Changes to This Projection
- First generic expected a date that is not known yet 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.
Also Going Generic
- KyprolisCarfilzomibDuring 2027
- BendekaBendamustine HydrochlorideJanuary 2029
- ExparelBupivacaineJanuary to June 2030
- TadliqTadalafil2030 to 2031
- XhanceFluticasone PropionateFebruary 2036
- PalsonifyPaltusotine Hydrochloride2041 to 2042
About Vantrela ER
- Generic name hydrocodone bitartrate
- How it is taken By mouth
- Company Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R And D Inc
- 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 V
- Have a question? A pharmacist answers, free. Ask about Vantrela ER
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.