Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. scored a victory in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals after it ruled a rival company cannot produce generic copies of one of its drugs until 2019.

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. sought to sell a generic copy of Cephalon’s (Teva’s recent $6 billion acquisition) drug Fentora. The fast-dissolving painkiller, used to relieve episodes of cancer pain in adults already taking opioids, reportedly generated $81 million for Cephalon in the first half of 2011. It appears Watson was trying to get in on the action.

In upholding the lower court’s decision in a notice without a formal opinion, the Federal Circuit re-emphasized that Watson cannot sell generic versions of the drug until Cephalon’s patent expires.

Teva has been very active in the Federal Circuit lately, recently losing an appeal against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals for the rights to cholesterol drug Crestor.

Given its recent “series of unusually robust price increases” for several Cephalon products and its more-recent victory in the Federal Circuit, however, it doesn’t look like Teva will be feeling the sting of losing the rights to Crestor any time soon.

Related Resources:

  • Cephalon v. Watson Pharmaceuticals (Scribd)
  • Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP et al (FindLaw’s CaseLaw)
  • Cert Denied in Barr’s Prosecution Laches Patent Challenge (FindLaw’s Federal Circuit blog)

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