Genentech Antibody Patent Gets Rejected
Genentech announced that U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected a patent that protects ways the company makes some of its drugs. The company said it might appeal. The so-called '415 patent relates, in part, to certain ways Genentech makes antibodies by recombinant DNA technology.
Genentech said it uses this technology for many of its products and has confidential licensing agreements with a number of companies on the '415 patent. Genentech also receives royalties on products covered by one or more claims of the patent, also known as Cabilly.The patent issue goes back to last February, when the Patent Office rejected all 36 claims of the Cabilly patent. In May, Genentech requested continued reexamination and the Patent Office granted the request. On Monday, however, the company said it received notification from the Patent Office that its claims of the Cabilly patent were rejected. Genentech said it plans to file a response and, if necessary, appeal the rejection.
Appellate Court in the Netherlands Upholds Basic Lipitor Patent, Prevents Launch of Ranbaxy Product before November 2011
Pfizer Inc announced that the Court of Appeal of The Hague in the Netherlands has ruled that a competitor product from generics manufacturer Ranbaxy would infringe the basic patent covering atorvastatin -the active ingredient in Lipitor -. The decision prevents Ranbaxy from launching its drug before Lipitor's basic patent (EP 247,633) expires in November 2011.
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins Files Class Action Suit Against Schering-Plough Corporation
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of purchasers of Schering-Plough Corporation securities during the period between July 24, 2006 and January 14, 2008.
AstraZeneca Response to Ruling In Re: Alabama Medicaid Pharmaceutical AWP Litigation
AstraZeneca believes this lawsuit is legally and factually unfounded and we intend to appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court, if the trial court does not reject the jury's verdict. The case was based on the misleading premise that the Alabama State Medicaid Agency did not understand the basics on how drug prices are established and reported. We believe numerous errors occurred during the proceedings and that the verdict should not be upheld.
For example, the Court ruled that important information on the workings of the Alabama pharmacy system be withheld throughout the trial. The Court also permitted evidence of earlier, unrelated settlements and proceedings in clear violation of the rules of evidence. These and other reversible errors were compounded by negative public comments by the trial lawyers and state leaders prior to the jury selection process.
AstraZeneca has fully complied with the law, government guidelines and contracts that govern Medicaid pricing. We currently provide medicines to Medicaid programs at the lowest price that we offer to our best business clients, as federal law requires.
AstraZeneca and the State Medicaid program share a common goal of helping people access the medicines they need.
To help patients who have difficulty affording their medicines, we offer patient assistance programs side by side with our medicines. In the last two years alone, AstraZeneca helped more than 28,800 Alabama patients receive more than $25.5 million in savings through its prescription savings programs.
Apotex and Pfizer settle Gabapentin suit
Apotex Corp. and Pfizer Inc. have settled all outstanding patent infringement and antitrust litigation over Pfizer's blockbuster epilepsy drug, Neurontin, which had earned the company more than $2 billion a year.
Gabapentin is a medication originally developed for the treatment of epilepsy. Presently, gabapentin is widely used to relieve pain, especially neuropathic pain. Gabapentin is well tolerated in most patients, has a relatively mild side-effect profile, and passes through the body unmetabolized.Gabapentin was initially synthesized to mimic the chemical structure of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but is not believed to act on the same brain receptors. Its exact mechanism of action is unknown, but its therapeutic action on neuropathic pain is thought to involve voltage-gated N-type calcium ion channels. It is thought to bind to the α2δ subunit of the voltage-dependent calcium channel in the central nervous system.
