Teva Wins One, Loses One In Patent Challenge Appeals At The Federal Circuit
Executive Summary
P&G's Actonel patent ruled valid: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected Teva's claims that the patent covering the active ingredient in Actonel (risedronate) was obvious and thus invalid. The court upheld a lower court decision that the unexpected results of the drug's potency and toxicity rebut Teva's claim that it was obvious to develop risedronate based on its similarity to another compound. P&G markets the osteoporosis drug in collaboration with Sanofi-Aventis. Actonel had more than $1 billion sales in 2008. The composition patent extends through June 2014 with the pediatric extension P&G received last month