GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) says U.S. patent litigation over the Omega-3 Lovaza drug has been settled, allowing generic drug company Apotex to eventually bring a competitor to market.

GSK said Wednesday that Norway’s Pronova BioPharma, which supplies the heart medicine to GSK, has reached a deal that gives Apotex the right to sell a generic version of Lovaza in the U.S. from the first quarter of 2015 — or earlier, depending on “certain circumstances” it did not name.

“The settlement grants Apotex a license to enter the US market with a generic version of Lovaza in the first quarter of 2015, or earlier depending on certain circumstances. Other terms of the settlement are confidential,” GSK said.

Pronova is still involved in Lovaza lawsuits with Teva Pharmaceuticals and Par Pharmaceutical.

GSK holds the U.S. marketing rights for the drug, which generated sales of $851 million) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico last year.

The company operates its U.S. headquarters and employs some 4,000 people in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Get the latest news alerts: Follow WRAL Tech Wire at Twitter.