Dr Reddy’s found to infringe arthritis drug patent

A New Jersey judge has ruled today that Dr Reddy’s Laboratories infringed a patent owned by Horizon Pharma.

The ruling, which was handed down at the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, centred on the drug Vimovo (naproxen and esomeprazole magnesium), a treatment for patients with arthritis.

The case arose when Dr Reddy’s filed three Abbreviated New Drug Applications with the Food and Drug Administration, seeking permission to bring a generic version of the treatment to market.

According to the ANDAs, Horizon’s patents were unenforceable and invalid.

The two patents which Dr Reddy’s claimed not to have infringed in its ANDAs were US numbers 6,926,907 and 8,557,285, but the only patent in dispute at trial was the ‘285 patent.

“We find that the Dr Reddy’s ANDA II product infringes claims 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the ‘285 patent and that those claims are not invalid under 35 USC § 112,” said the court.

It added: “We will file this memorandum opinion under temporary seal and order the parties to submit a proposed form of judgment in accordance with this opinion.”

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