igorua-shutterstock-com-patent-
IgorUA / Shutterstock.com
27 September 2016Americas

AstraZeneca fires patent lawsuit at Par Pharmaceutical

Drugs company AstraZeneca has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Par Pharmaceutical.

Filed on Friday, September 23, at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, AstraZeneca and Impax Laboratories claimed that Par has infringed US patent number 7,220,767.

In February 2012, AstraZeneca licensed the exclusive US commercial rights to Zomig (zolmitriptan) nasal spray, which treats migraine headaches, to Impax.

The companies filed the case after Par submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking its approval to manufacture and sell generic versions of Zomig.

“Plaintiffs will be irreparably harmed if Par is not enjoined from infringing or actively inducing infringement of the ‘767 patent,” said the filing.

Impax has asked the court to order that the effective date of any FDA approval of the generic products be later than the patent’s expiry date.

The companies are also seeking injunctive relief and an award of costs, expenses and disbursements in this action, including reasonable attorneys’ fees.