AstraZeneca: Canadian Court Allows NOC On Apotex' Esomeprazole

17th Jun 2010 07:12

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) said Thursday the Federal Court of Canada has dismissed its request to prohibit the Canadian Minister of Health from issuing a Notice of Compliance, or NOC, for the regulatory applications for generic esomeprazole magnesium submitted by Apotex Inc. MAIN FACTS: -Canadian Minister of Health is now free to issue an NOC to Apotex, if their regulatory submissions are in an approvable form, prior to the expiration of NEXIUM's Canadian patents. -AstraZeneca is reviewing the ruling, which relates to only one of NEXIUM's Canadian patents, and evaluating its options. -AstraZeneca's options include initiating a comprehensive patent infringement action. -Company will continue to vigorously defend its intellectual property for NEXIUM. -Shares closed Wednesday at 3083 pence valuing the company at GBP44.474 billion. -By Ian Walker, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9296; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 17, 2010 02:12 ET (06:12 GMT)