By Ed Ballard
Shire PLC (SHP.LN) reported Wednesday that a U.S. court ruled
that patents protecting Vyvanse, its bestselling attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder drug, were infringed, saying the ruling
prevents rival drugmakers from launching generic versions of the
treatment.
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted
Shire's summary judgment motion in a patent infringement lawsuit
against five companies that have filed to launch generic versions
of the drug, Shire said.
The companies--Actavis LLC, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Mylan
Pharmaceuticals Inc., Roxane Laboratories Inc., and Sandoz
Inc.--must now appeal the ruling or wait until the patents expire
in 2023, Dublin-based Shire said.
"We are extremely pleased with the court's ruling, which affirms
Shire's belief that it has strong patents protecting Vyvanse," said
Shire Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov.
The court also said U.K. specialty chemicals firm Johnson
Matthey PLC (JMAT.LN), the supplier of the active ingredient in the
drug to Shire's competitors, was "liable for inducing the ANDA
Defendants' [the companies filing new drug applications] direct
infringement of the compound claims," Shire reported.
A Johnson Matthey spokesman declined to comment.
Shire last week rejected a $46 billion takeover bid from U.S.
rival AbbVie Inc., the latest attempt by a U.S. firm to buy a
foreign-domiciled company in order to pay less tax.
Write to Ed Ballard at ed.ballard@wsj.com
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