Court blocked generic Levofloxacine in Canada

Johnson & Johnson won a ruling in Canada's highest court that a patent on its antibiotic Levaquin was infringed when a unit of Teva Pharmaceuticals began selling a generic version of the drug.
The Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa today refused to hear Teva subsidiary Novopharm's appeal of a federal court ruling that upheld the validity of the patent to June 2009.
Levaquin, containing the ingredient levofloxacin, is used to treat lung, sinus, skin and urinary-tract infections. Levaquin and Floxin, a similar antibiotic, accounted for $1.16 billion in U.S. sales last year, but only $59 million outside the country, Johnson & Johnson has said.
Levofloxacin is ``not the greatest invention, not `eureka,' but of sufficient `inventive ingenuity' to merit valid patent protection,'' Judge Roger Hughes said in a 2006 ruling. His decision was upheld by the federal appeals court.
Novo-levofloxacin, Novopharm's generic version of Levaquin, has been sold in Canada since 2004 and accounts for 2 percent of the company's revenue, court documents show. Officials with Novopharm didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ruling is a victory for Johnson & Johnson's Janssen- Ortho unit and Japan's Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., the patent holder. Janssen-Ortho sells Levaquin in Canada under a license from Daiichi. Johnson & Johnson doesn't provide a breakdown of Canadian sales figures.
The trial judge in the 2006 ruling gave Novopharm 30 days to sell its inventory of Novo-levofloxacin. The order was stayed pending the appeal. Hughes had ordered a separate trial to deal with the issue of damages.