AstraZeneca victorious in patent battle
Shares in AstraZeneca, the drugs giant, jumped nearly 5 per cent yesterday after it won a key patent battle in America over Seroquel, its anti-psychotic drug and second-best seller.
The decision by a US court to award a summary judgment in AstraZeneca’s favour avoids the need for a full trial and means that generic copies of Seroquel, which raked in $4bn in sales last year, will not be launched any time soon.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision to uphold our valid intellectual property,” AstraZeneca chief executive officer David Brennan said in a statement.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s biggest generic drug maker, said it plans to appeal the judgment by the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.
A summary judgment of “No Inequitable Conduct” is traditionally difficult to win because it requires the company to prove the intent of the patent holder.
The case had previously been scheduled to go to trial on 11 August. AstraZeneca sued Teva in 2005 to block a cheaper form of Seroquel. It also sued Sandoz International, the generics division of Swiss company Novartis, last year when it applied to sell Seroquel copies in four different doses.
Teva and Sandoz had already conceded infringement and the validity of AstraZeneca’s patent, leaving only the inequitable conduct contentions. AstraZeneca has made pre-emptive bids to protect its sales of Seroquel from generic competition.
