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US: Teva can’t block generic rival from market entry

By  |  May 15, 2014

Teva Pharmaceuticals has reportedly lost a battle to have a generic form of its multiple sclerosis drug be blocked from entering the market 10 days before Teva’s patent expires.

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    According to reports, the Israel-based pharmaceutical company filed a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration accusing the regulator of failing to prevent the generic form of Copaxone from going on sale in the US before Teva’s patent on the drug expired. But a federal judge threw out the suit this week, only days after it was filed.

    Reports say Copaxone counts for more than 50 percent of Teva’s earnings.

    This isn’t the first time Teva has fought to have generic, less expensive rivals from competing. Reports say the company has similarly challenged the release of drugs made by rivals Mylan and Novartis’s Sandoz.

    The battle between brand name and generic pharmaceuticals has been a key focus of the Federal Trade Commission as of late; the agency is especially concerned with so-called pay-for-delay agreements, in which a brand name drug maker pays its generic rival to keep the cheaper competitor off store shelves.

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