Novartis says US court orders Teva to stop selling generic Lotrel version UPDATE |
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Published
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Mon, 21 May 2007 07:20
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(updates to add 2006 sales from Lotrel)BASEL, Switzerland (Thomson Financial) - Novartis AG said a US court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from launching a generic version of Novartis' high blood pressure-medicine Lotrel in the US.A hearing has been set for May 21 in a US district court in New Jersey to review the restraining order and proceedings in the ongoing patent infringement litigation between the two companies, Novartis said in a statement.A trial date has not been set, it said.'Novartis will continue to vigorously defend its intellectual property rights, including the validity of the Lotrel patent, against any generic challengers,' Novartis said.Novartis last year posted sales of 1.35 bln usd with Lotrel, one of its most important cardiovascular medicines, which is sold only in the US.The Swiss pharmaceutical company in 2004 filed a patent infringement lawsuit in a US district court against Teva after the company sought approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to market a generic version of Lotrel.Novartis requested a restraining order last week, after Teva received final US FDA approval for its generic version and began shipments to customers 'despite Novartis still having a valid US patent for Lotrel that does not expire until December 2017.'The restraining order requires Teva to stop manufacturing, using, selling or offering to sell a generic version of Lotrel until further notice.maria.sheahan@thomson.commas/hjp/mas/ejpCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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Novartis says US court orders Teva to stop selling generic version of Lotrel 