Pfizer triumphs in US Viagra patent trial
pharmafile | August 17, 2011 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Pfizer, generics, viagra
Pfizer has won a US patent infringement case against generics giant Teva, stopping the company from making its own version of Viagra until 2019.
The District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s decision is subject to appeal, but it currently prevents Israeli-based Teva from receiving approval for a generic form of Pfizer’s top selling erectile dysfunction drug until October 2019.
Amy Schulman, executive VP and general counsel for Pfizer, said: “We are pleased that the court recognized the validity and enforceability of our Viagra patent for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
“Protecting the intellectual property rights of our innovative core is critical, and [the] court decision acknowledges Teva’s clear violation of our patent rights.”
Teva failed to prove that Pfizer intentionally withheld material information from the patent office – the argument its legal case rested on – meaning Pfizer can hang on to US sales, which were worth last year worth $1 billion, until the end of the decade.
The company still faces ongoing patent litigation cases with other generics firms, although no trials have yet been scheduled, meaning this week’s result could set a positive precedent for Pfizer if future disputes do arise.
Analysts at Matrix said: “Protecting the drug has important financial implications for Pfizer [but] for the industry, the importance is many-fold higher.
“This is a positive precedent for other existing method of use patents as well as future method of use patents, providing an addition hurdle for generics, thereby justifying a re-rating in the pharmaceutical sector given the heavy reliance on such patents.”
Ben Adams
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