Norton CFC-free beclomethasone inhaler U.K. approval could come this year following patent victory.

Executive Summary

NORTON ANTICIPATES CFC-FREE BECLOMETHASONE INHALER U.K. APPROVAL IN LATE 1997 following a recent victory over 3M in the British patent courts. The U.K. court invalidated three European patents held by 3M which relate to the use of the CFC-free propellant P134a in metered dose inhalers. The ruling clears the way for Ivax' U.K. subsidiary Norton Healthcare to market its CFC-free beclomethasone inhaler in Great Britain once the product is approved by the Medicines Control Agency. Norton is predicting a U.K. launch in early 1998.