Pronova Wins Heart-Drug Patent Case Against Teva, Par Pharma
29 Mai 2012 - 11:47PM
Dow Jones News
A Delaware court has ruled in favor of Pronova BioPharma ASA
(PRON.OS, PVNAY), upholding two patents for its heart drug Lovaza
against Par Pharmaceutical Cos. (PRX) and Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries Ltd. (TEVA, TEVA.TV).
The ruling means Par Pharmaceutical and Teva can't sell generic
versions of Lovaza, which lowers very high levels of triglycerides
in the bloodstream, at this time. Lovaza is derived from Omega-3
fatty acids.
Shares of Par Pharmaceutical tumbled 7.8% to close at $37.70,
while Teva's stock ended off 1.3% at $38.10. Pronova BioPharma's
American depositary shares closed 6.3% higher at $5.31.
"Great news for us," said Hamed Brodersen, Pronova's vice
president of investor relations.
Shares of Amarin Corp. (AMRN) jumped 6.2% to $12.27. The ruling
is good news from a pricing standpoint for the specialty
pharmaceutical company as it has its own fatty acid-derived drug
currently in development.
In 2009, Pronova alleged patent infringement against Par
Pharmaceutical and Teva after they both filed abbreviated new drug
applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to bring
generic versions of Lovaza to the market to treat very high
triglyceride levels. The cases were consolidated.
On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
ruled in favor of Pronova BioPharma, saying the company met its
burden to prove infringement of two patents.
Generic drug maker Apotex Inc. was part of the lawsuit, but it
reached a settlement agreement in March 2011. The settlement
granted Apotex a license to enter the U.S. market with a generic
version of Lovaza in the first quarter of 2015, or earlier
depending on certain circumstances.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK, GSK.LN) has the marketing rights for
the fish-oil-derived treatment in the U.S. In 2011, end-user sales
were nearly $950 million for Lovaza in the U.S., according to
Pronova, up 7% from the year prior.
Lovaza is the first Omega-3 fatty acid-derived prescription drug
approved by the European Union and the FDA.
-By Corrie Driebusch, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2143;
corrie.driebusch@dowjones.com;