Mylan Laboratories Inc. won a decision from a federal court judge in Pittsburgh to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Pfizer Inc. to block the sale of its generic version of the top-selling blood-pressure drug Norvasc.
District Court Judge Terrence F. McVerry said he lacked jurisdiction in blocking Mylan's sale of Norvasc because Pfizer's patent on Norvasc had expired. A second dispute between Canonsburg-based Mylan and Pfizer over another patent expiring next year is set for trial Nov. 28.
The ruling has "far-reaching implications for the generic industry," Mylan said in a statement.
Mylan already has won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell its generic version of Norvasc, Pfizer's second-biggest selling drug, with $1.9 billion in sales through the first nine months of this year
Drugmakers are given six-month patent extensions if they agree to conduct tests of their drugs on children. Pfizer had argued that its six-month extension was valid through Jan. 31.
However, McVerry said the extension was invalid because there never had been a court determination on the validity of the patent or whether it was infringed.
Larger text
Smaller text
Print
E-mail
