Biopharmaceutical company Shire has had a patent for Lialda (mesalamine) upheld in its trial against Watson Pharmaceuticals.
Shire released a statement yesterday, March 29, where it outlined the details of the case.
The decision, which was handed down at the US District Court for the Southern District of Southern Florida, concerns Watson’s (now Actavis) Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for a generic version of Lialda.
Lialda is used to treat adults with mild to moderate active ulcerative colitis.
Judge Donald Middlebrooks also issued a ruling that Actavis’ ANDA infringed Shire’s patent number 6,773,720, which lasts until 2020.
He entered an injunction stopping the Food and Drug Administration from approving the ANDA formulation until the patent expires, as well as prohibiting Actavis from making, using, selling, or importing its ANDA product.
LSIPR reported last year that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on the case for the second time.
James Harrington, senior vice president and global head of intellectual property at Shire, said: “Shire is very pleased that the court has once again ruled in our favour, reaffirming the validity of the patent protecting Lialda.”