Israel targets Teva over MS drug royalties

The state of Israel has sued Teva Pharmaceuticals for $100 million over alleged unpaid royalties relating to its multiple sclerosis drug, Copaxone.

Israel filed a lawsuit in the Lod District Court on May 11, claiming that Teva contravened IP rights in the aftermath of the development of a longer interval dosage version of the drug.

The development was first reported by Isreal-based media outlet, Globes .

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel developed Copaxone, while Teva retained marketing rights.

While the drug was initially issued in daily doses, Teva saw the need for a longer interval dosage. According to the Israeli state, this dosage was developed by researchers at the Weizmann institute in 2014, conferring the rights to the research to the state.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the new version of Copaxone and Teva registering the patent globally for the longer interval dosage of the treatment.

According to the complaint, Teva violated and stole the IP rights of the state and did not pay the state its owed royalties.

“The state has no alternative but to take legal action against Teva to ensure that it receives suitable remuneration for using public resources that brought Teva very large scale revenue,” said the lawsuit.

The state decided to pursue the case in the wake of a lawsuit filed against Teva by the institute researchers back in 2018.

Commenting on the lawsuit, Teva said: “We are talking about a recycled lawsuit with groundless allegations that were claimed against Teva in the past in a lawsuit that has been pending since 2018. Teva will respond to the body of the allegations as part of the legal proceedings, as is customary.”

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.