Healthcare Industry News: Teva Pharma
News Release - July 14, 2006
Forest Announces Federal Court Upholds Lexapro(R) Patent
NEW YORK, July 13 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX ) said today that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has determined that the U.S. patent covering escitalopram, the active ingredient in Lexapro®, is both valid, enforceable and infringed by Ivax/Teva's proposed generic product, thereby confirming Forest's and Lundbeck's patent rights for Lexapro®, which expire in March 2012.Judge Joseph J. Farnan ruled in Forest's and Lundbeck's favor in a lawsuit brought by Forest and its partner H. Lundbeck A/S of Denmark against the generic manufacturer Ivax/Teva.
The patent at issue in the U.S. lawsuit is Lexapro's patent (U.S. Patent No. Re 34,712), which is set to expire in March 2012 and covers substantially pure escitalopram.
About Forest Laboratories
Forest Laboratories (www.frx.com) is a US-based pharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, developing, and delivering products that make a positive difference in peoples' lives. Forest Laboratories' growing product line includes Lexapro® (escitalopram oxalate), an SSRI indicated for adults for the initial and maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder and for generalized anxiety disorder; Namenda® (memantine HCl), an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease; Benicar®* (olmesartan medoxomil), an angiotensin receptor blocker, and Benicar* HCT® (olmesartan medoxomil-hydrochlorothiazide), an angiotensin receptor blocker and diuretic combination product, each indicated for the treatment of hypertension; and Campral®* (acamprosate calcium), indicated in combination with psychosocial support for the maintenance of abstinence from alcohol in patients with alcohol dependence who are abstinent at treatment initiation.
* Benicar is a registered trademark of Sankyo Pharma, Inc., and Campral is a registered trademark of Merck Sante s.a.s., subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the difficulty of predicting FDA approvals, the acceptance and demand for new pharmaceutical products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the timely development and launch of new products, and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Forest Laboratories' SEC reports, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.
Source: Forest Laboratories
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