Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA), the world’s biggest generic-drug company, won an appeals court order that temporarily prevents Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) from selling a generic version of the contraceptive Seasonique.
The temporary ban lets the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington consider whether sales should be halted further until it rules on a separate appeal by Teva’s Duramed unit to block Watson’s generic copy. Watson has until July 1 to respond, according to the order issued today.
Watson, which planned to begin selling copies as soon as June 20, “will oppose this motion to appeal and seek to be able to launch the product,” said Charlie Mayr, a spokesman for the Corona, California-based company. Teva had filed an emergency attempt to prevent sales until a trial could be held with U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks in Reno, Nevada, who denied the request yesterday. The Federal Circuit ruling today temporarily puts sales on hold until it can sort out Teva’s appeal.
Teva, based in Petah Tikva, Israel, contends the copy would infringe a patent that expires in 2024, and wants to ensure Watson can’t bring the drug to market before then. In Hicks’s decision denying Teva, he cited Watson’s defense that the patent may be invalid.
“Duramed has not raised serious questions that Watson’s patent invalidity defense lacks merit,” Hicks said.
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