Wyeth (NYSE:WYE) has asked the US District Court for the District of New Jersey for an injunction against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and India’s Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (BSE:524715) from launching generic versions of its Protonix ulcer drug until the court reaches a final decision about related patent litigation.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded both Teva and Sun marketing approval generic versions of Protonix, which had $1.8 billion in global sales in 2006. Wyeth said its actions against both companies had been consolidated into a single proceeding before the federal court, but no trial date has been set.
Although the US patent on Protonix does not lapse until July 2010, Wyeth notes in an SEC filing that the FDA could grant final approval to Teva's product by August 2 and to Sun's copycat version by September 8. Should Teva and Sun launch their products before Protonix' patent expires but later lose their court fight with Wyeth, they could be forced to pay Wyeth penalties and compensation for its lost Protonix sales.
“AP” cites Cowen and Co. as predicting that Protonix revenue will rise to $2.1 billion in 2010, but plunge to about $400 million in 2011, after the US patent lapses.
Sun Pharmaceuticals recently acquired Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Pink Sheets: TAROF.PK).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 26, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007