Astra and Teva kiss and make up

7th Jan 2010 07:01

Drugs firm AstraZeneca has come to an agreement with Israel-based rival Teva Pharmaceuticals generic version of Astra’s Nexium ulcer capsules.Astra will withdraw its patent litigation against Teva and has granted Teva a licence to enter the US market with its generic esomeprazole on 27 May 2014, subject to regulatory approval, or earlier in certain circumstances.In return, Teva has conceded all patents at issue in Teva's US Nexium patent litigations are valid and enforceable. Additionally, thee Israeli company has also conceded that six Nexium patents would be infringed by the manufacture or sale of Teva's US generic drug, esomeprazole. In further signs of a rapprochement between the warring companies, Astra and Teva have settled patent litigation relating to Prilosec (omeprazole).Teva has agreed to make a one-off payment to AstraZeneca for previously infringing sales. The size of the payment has not been deemed financially material to either Astra or Teva.