Teva Wins Appeal on Cephalon Drug
From Globes (Tel Aviv) (December 11, 2011)
Dec. 11--Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE:
TEVA) announced on Friday that the US Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Washington upheld the validity of a Cephalon
patent on Fentora, upholding a lower court ruling that Watson
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) infringed the patent. Fentora is
approved to relieve sudden episodes of cancer pain in adults
already taking opioids, or morphine-like drugs.
Watson may not market Fentora until its patent expires in 2019, subject to further appeal.
Fentora generated $81 million in US sales in the first half of 2011, Cephalon said in August. Teva acquired Cephalon in October for $6.8 billion. Cephalon develops and markets neurological and pain drugs, as well as products in the fields of asthma, oncology, stem cell, hematology, and pain.
Cephalon's main products are Provigil, which treats sleep disorders; Fentora, which treats pain; Treanda, which treats hematological cancer; and another drug that treats epilepsy.
Teva's share price rose 1.3 percent in early morning trading on the TASE today to NIS 151.9, after rising 1.2 percent on Nasdaq on Friday to $40.20, giving a market cap of $35.6 billion.
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(c)2011 the Globes (Tel Aviv, Israel)
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Distributed by MCT Information Services
Posted: December 2011
