AstraZeneca gets Seroquel patent boost

28th Sep 2009 07:25

AstraZeneca has won another round in its long-running fight against generic competition to bipolar treatment Seroquel after a US appeal court upheld its infringement claim against Sandoz and Teva Pharmaceutical over Seroquel tablets.A US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the Summary Judgment decision of No Inequitable Conduct in patent litigation involving Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate) tablets, an Astra statement said.The decision upholds previous a previous judgement that Teva's and Sandoz's products will infringe AstraZeneca's Seroquel patent and that the patent is valid and enforceable, Astra added. The UK firm sued Teva and Sandoz for alleged infringement of its patent as a result of Teva's and Sandoz's filings of Abbreviated New Drug Applications. Teva and Sandoz had conceded infringement and the validity of AstraZeneca's patent covering Seoquel but had sought approval to market generic versions of tablets in the US before the patent expires in 2012.