Migraine headache treatment Treximet, developed by pharmaceutical company Pozen (NASDAQ:POZN), has won a patent victory against generics companies looking to introduce their versions of the drug.
A federal judge in Texas has ruled that two Treximet patents are valid and enforceable, and were infringed by Par Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PRX), Alphapharm and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE:RDY). A third patent was infinged only by Par and Dr. Reddy’s, the judge ruled. With the legal victory, Treximet can continue without generic competition until its patents expire; two expire in 2017 and one expires in 2025.
Treximet, a drug that combines sumatriptan with naproxen sodium, was developed by Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Pozen and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008 to treat migraine headaches. The drug is marketed in the United States by Pozen drug partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK). Pozen retained the rights to commercialize Treximet in the rest of the world. Treximet generated $15.4 million in 2010 royalty revenue for Pozen.
Pozen had sued Par, Alphapharm and Dr. Reddy’s claiming that those generic products infringe on its three Treximet patents. The litigation was consolidated into one suit that was tried last October. A fourth generics company, Teva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TEVA), must also abide by the terms of the judge’s ruling. Teva last year reached a settlement agreement with Pozen that dismissed the company from the litigation, but bound the company to its outcome.
The defendents may appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
