Pfizer Prevails in Xalatan Patent Suit

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 09 Jul 2004 - 11:00 PDT

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Pfizer Inc said today it has prevailed in a patent infringement suit in which Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Par), was seeking approval to sell a generic version of Pfizer's glaucoma medicine Xalatan (latanoprost).

In a July 6 decision, Judge Stanley R. Chesler of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey held that Pharmacia's patent on formulations and uses of latanoprost (U.S. 5,296,504, expiring in March 2011) was valid, infringed and enforceable against Par.

Further, the court issued an injunction blocking the approval of Par's drug application until the March 2011 expiration of the '504 patent.

Pfizer said another patent (U.S. 5,422,368, expiring on March 22, 2011) was ruled unenforceable by the court for "inequitable conduct" by Pharmacia in the failure to submit pertinent patent information. The company noted, however, that the judge's decision on this patent does not allow Par to enter the market with a competing product and has no commercial significance. Pfizer said it disagrees with the court and is appealing the decision on the '368 patent.