Gilead sues Teva for HIV patent infringement

Teva has applied to the FDA to make and market generic Truvada.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) has sued Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and subsidiary Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. for patent infringement. The lawsuit, filed on Friday with a US District Court in New York, states that Teva has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval to produce and sell a generic version of Truvada, a treatment of HIV-1 in adults, before the expiration two related patents.

Gilead claims that it has an exclusive license from Emory University to produce emtricitabine, a component of Truvada. It added that Truvada is currently protected by ten patents, which are listed in the FDA's Approved Drugs Products List, and that all ten patents would need to be invalidated or expired before a generic version of Truvada could be marketed.

Truvada sales totaled $549 million in the third quarter of 2008, 34% more than in the corresponding quarter of 2007.

Teva's share rose 0.6% on Nasdaq on Friday to $42.41. The share fell 2.4% at the opening on the TASE today to NIS 162.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 14, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

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