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Santarus Announces Appellate Court Reversal in Part of ZEGERID Invalidity Decision

06-Sep-2012 | Source : | Visits : 7895
SAN DIEGO - Santarus Inc. announced in a press release that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed in part a lower court decision of invalidity involving certain asserted patent claims covering ZEGERID®Capsules and ZEGERID Powder for Oral Suspension. 

The Federal Circuit found that certain claims of asserted US Patent numbers 6,780,882 and 7,399,772, which Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. had been found to infringe, were not invalid due to obviousness. The Federal Circuit also upheld the District Court's finding that there was no inequitable conduct. The case will be remanded back to the US District Court for the District of Delaware for further proceedings consistent with the appellate decision. 

These patents were the subject of lawsuits brought by Santarus in 2007 against Par for patent infringement associated with Par's submission of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The patents at issue expire in July 2016. In July 2010, following the District Court decision that five patents covering ZEGERID were invalid due to obviousness, Prasco, LLC, under a distribution and supply agreement with Santarus, and Par launched generic versions of ZEGERID Capsules. 

"We are very pleased with the ruling of the Federal Circuit and are assessing our options. Given that the Federal Circuit found certain claims to be not obvious, we believe Par has no meritorious basis to further dispute infringement or validity. We plan to aggressively pursue all remedies available to us, including damages as well as seeking an order halting further sales of Par's generic product," said Gerald T. Proehl, president and chief executive officer of Santarus. 

Santarus Inc. is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing proprietary products that address the needs of patients treated by physician specialists.
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