Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's biggest generic-drug company, said over the weekend that a US appeals court ruled it can resume selling a lower-cost version of Novartis AG's Famvir treatment for genital herpes.
Novartis claims the Teva version infringes a patent. A judge in Newark, New Jersey, on September 5 rejected a request by Novartis to block sales until a trial is held. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington refused to order the sales halted while Novartis appeals that ruling.
Famvir, which contains the active ingredient famciclovir, had sales of $200 million for the 12 months ended June 30, Petah Tikva-based Teva said this month, citing figures from market researcher IMS Health. Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis sued Teva in 2005, claiming the generic drug would infringe a patent expiring in 2010.
The Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases, had issued a temporary halt to Famvir sales while it considered the Novartis request to issue a longer-term order. A Novartis spokeswoman didn't return a message seeking comment.
Separately, Teva has agreed not to sell a low-cost version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's diabetes drugs Avandia, Avandamet or Avandaryl until 2012.
The agreement came as the two settled a patent-infringement lawsuit Glaxo filed to block sales of the medicines until a patent on the drug expires in 2015. The patent on rosiglitazone, the active ingredient in Avandia, expires in March 2012. Other terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
Avandia is London-based Glaxo's second-biggest drug, behind the asthma treatment Advair. Sales of the medicine fell 22% in the second quarter to £349m. after Avandia was linked in some studies to increased heart-attack risk. Glaxo maintains that the drug is safe.
Avandaryl is a combination of Avandia and Sanofi-Aventis SA's Amaryl to stimulate production of pancreatic insulin. Avandamet combines Avandia with metformin, which can reduce the amount of blood sugar made by the liver.
A trial on the case had been scheduled to begin in August in federal court in Camden, New Jersey. Glaxo accused Teva of infringing the 2012 patent on the compound and a second patent for a method of using the compound to treat diabetes that expires in 2015.
Teva was the first to apply with the US Food and Drug Administration to sell generic versions of the drugs. Glaxo sued Teva to block generic Avandia in 2005 and again in May over Avandaryl. Glaxo spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne didn't immediately return messages after business hours.
