Teva, Viatris win U.S. appeal in patent fight over Parkinson's drug
12/04/2023 19:32
By Blake Brittain
April 12 (Reuters) - Belgian biopharmaceutical company
UCB UCB.BR on Wednesday lost its U.S. court appeal seeking to
revive a patent covering its Parkinson's disease drug Neupro,
clearing an obstacle for Teva's TEVA.TA Actavis Laboratories
UT Inc and Viatris' VTRS.O Mylan Technologies Inc to sell
generic versions of the drug.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed
with a Delaware federal court that UCB's patent on Neupro
patches was invalid. A ruling for UCB could have delayed U.S.
Food and Drug Administration approval of a Neupro generic until
it expired in December 2030, the court said.
An earlier court order based on a separate patent had
blocked Actavis' proposed generic until 2021.
A Teva spokesperson said the company was pleased with the
decision. Representatives for UCB and Viatris did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
The FDA first approved Neupro in 2007 to treat Parkinson's
disease, a neurodegenerative disorder. It was removed from the
market in 2008 over dosing concerns and reapproved with a
different formula in 2012.
UCB sold over 300 million Euros worth of the drug worldwide
last year, according to a company report.
UCB and LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme AG 6560.T sued
Actavis and Mylan for patent infringement in 2019 over their
planned Neupro generics. A Delaware court invalidated UCB and
LTS' patent in 2021 based on their earlier patents for the
original version of Neupro that the court said covered the same
invention.
The Federal Circuit affirmed Wednesday that the patent UCB
accused Actavis and Mylan of infringing was obvious and
unpatentable.
The case is UCB Inc v. Actavis Laboratories UT Inc, U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 21-1924.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713;))