Teva scores Copaxone patent victory in Europe

Teva has been handed a victory after a patent covering its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) was declared valid until 2030.

In a decision handed down by the European Patent Office (EPO) on Monday, December 7, the validity of the patent, covering a 40mg version of the drug, was upheld.

The patent, European number 2405749, was declared valid by the EPO’s opposition division after it was challenged by pharmaceutical companies Synthon, Actavis and Mylan, which had sought to market generic versions of the product.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission posted on Monday, Teva said the EPO is expected to issue a detailed written decision within a few weeks.

“The ruling is subject to appeal, but it is expected that any appeal will take up to two years to be heard,” it added.

In June this year, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that a Teva patent covering a 20mg version of Copaxone was no longer valid.

The dispute centred on Teva’s US patent number 5,800,808, which covers a process for manufacturing Copaxone’s active ingredient glatiramer acetate.