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8 April 2014Americas

Purdue sues Teva to block OxyContin challenge

OxyContin (oxycodone hydrochloride) maker Purdue Pharma has filed suit against Teva to stop the generic drug maker trying to litigate claims to a patent for which it had filed a Paragraph III certification.

Teva filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application in 2011 seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to make and sell a generic version of Purdue’s blockbuster painkiller OxyContin.

Its Paragraph III certification indicated that it would start marketing its generic oxycodone hydrochloride extended release tablets only after Purdue’s patents covering the product expire.

The case, which was brought at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 3, relates to US patent 6,488,963, which covers a method of formulating pharmaceutical products.

In the complaint, Purdue argued that Teva could have, but did not pursue the patent claims in its prior litigation with Purdue, which have now concluded.

According to drugs.com, OxyContin sales totalled $2.4 billion in 2013.