Healthcare Industry News: Barr Laboratories
News Release - May 11, 2006
Barr Challenging Patents Protecting Prozac(R) Weekly(TM)
WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., May 11 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BRL ) today announced that its subsidiary, Barr Laboratories, Inc., has been sued by Eli Lilly & Company, which initiates Barr's challenge of a patent protecting Eli Lilly's Prozac® Weekly(TM) (Fluoxetine Hydrochloride) Capsules, USP 90 mg from generic competition. The Company indicated it is the first to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the 90 mg capsule product.Prozac Weekly Capsules, USP 90 mg has current annual sales of approximately $40 million, based on IMS sales data for the twelve months ended March 2006.
Prozac Weekly is indicated for the continuation treatment phase of major depressive disorder. The drug is administered on a weekly basis, and it is indicated for patients whose depressive symptoms have stabilized and who require continuing treatment to prevent relapse, or return of symptoms.
Barr filed an ANDA for Fluoxetine Hydrochloride capsules, USP 90 mg with the FDA in September 2001, and received notification of the application's acceptance for filing in November 2001. Barr's ANDA contained a Paragraph IV certification to the patents listed in the Orange Book for this product. Following receipt of notice from FDA, Barr notified Eli Lilly of its ANDA filing. Eli Lilly did not sue Barr within 45 days of receiving this notice. On March 21, 2006, Lilly obtained a reissue patent, U.S. Patent RE39,030, and subsequently listed that patent in the Orange Book. Barr amended its ANDA to include a Paragraph IV certification to that patent. On May 10, 2006, after receiving notice from Barr, Eli Lilly filed suit against Barr on the reissue patent in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, to prevent Barr from proceeding with the commercialization of this product.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Barr Laboratories, Inc. and Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., develop, manufacture and market generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by their use of words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates" and other words of similar meaning. Because such statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements depending upon a number of factors affecting the Company's business. These factors include, among others: the difficulty in predicting the timing and outcome of legal proceedings, including patent-related matters such as patent challenge settlements and patent infringement cases; the outcome of litigation arising from challenging the validity or non- infringement of patents covering our products; the difficulty of predicting the timing of FDA approvals; court and FDA decisions on exclusivity periods; the ability of competitors to extend exclusivity periods for their products; our ability to complete product development activities in the timeframes and for the costs we expect; market and customer acceptance and demand for our pharmaceutical products; our dependence on revenues from significant customers; reimbursement policies of third party payors; our dependence on revenues from significant products; the use of estimates in the preparation of our financial statements; the impact of competitive products and pricing on products, including the launch of authorized generics; the ability to launch new products in the timeframes we expect; the availability of raw materials; the availability of any product we purchase and sell as a distributor; the regulatory environment; our exposure to product liability and other lawsuits and contingencies; the increasing cost of insurance and the availability of product liability insurance coverage; our timely and successful completion of strategic initiatives, including integrating companies and products we acquire and implementing our new enterprise resource planning system; fluctuations in operating results, including the effects on such results from spending for research and development, sales and marketing activities and patent challenge activities; the inherent uncertainty associated with financial projections; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statement was made. The Company undertakes no obligation (nor does it intend) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable law.
Source: Barr Pharmaceuticals
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