Timing is everything. The Indian generic drugmaker wins tentative FDA approval just two days after the agency requires labeling changes about bizarre side effects - such as sleeping driving, sleep sex and sleep eating - associated with Ambien and a dozen other sleeping pills.

This is also the same company that, last month, was raided by the FDA, which visited the company’s US headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, and a lab and plant in nearby North Brunswick, and seized all sorts of documents.

Warnings? Raids? Never mind. Legally, Ranbaxy has every right to go after the zombie market. Besides, demand is high. Plenty of people still lie awake at night dreaming of….well, whatever. In fact, Pharmalot noticed this little bit of news at half past 4 o’clock in the morning. But why sleep when one can work?

Here’s the Ranbaxy statement.

[tags]Ambien, FDA, Generics, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Sanofi-Aventis[/tags]