Forest Laboratories Announces Federal Appeals Court Upholds Lexapro(R) Paten...( NEW YORK Sept. 5 /- Forest Labora...)

NEW YORK, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) and H. Lundbeck A/S of Denmark said today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a July 13, 2006 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware which determined that the U.S. patent covering escitalopram, the active ingredient in Lexapro(R), is valid and upheld the injunction preventing Ivax/Teva's proposed generic product launch, thereby confirming Forest's and Lundbeck's patent rights for Lexapro(R), which expire in March 2012.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001011/FORESTLOGO )

The patent at issue in the U.S. lawsuit is Lexapro's patent (U.S. Patent No. Re 34,712), which is set to expire in March 2012 and covers substantially pure escitalopram.

About Forest Laboratories and Its Products

Forest Laboratories (http://www.frx.com) is a US-based pharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, developing and delivering products that make a positive difference in peoples' lives. Forest Laboratories' growing product line includes Lexapro(R) (escitalopram oxalate), an SSRI indicated for adults for the initial and maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder; Namenda(R) (memantine HCl), an N-methyl D- aspartate (NMDA)-receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease; Benicar(R)* (olmesartan medoxomil), an angiotensin receptor blocker, and Benicar* HCT(R) (olmesartan medoxomil- hydrochlorothiazide), an angiotensin receptor blocker and diuretic combination
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