Procter & Gamble Wins Patent Infringement Lawsuit for Osteoporosis Thera...( CINCINNATI May 13 2009 /- Today the U...),Health

CINCINNATI, May 13, 2009 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) in the patent infringement lawsuit filed by P&G against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. The positive ruling protects P&G's rights in the U.S. to exclusively market the osteoporosis therapy Actonel(R) (risedronate sodium) tablets. Actonel is commercialized through a collaboration between Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals and sanofi-aventis.

On August 13, 2004, P&G filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Teva to enforce P&G's U.S. composition of matter patent for risedronate, the active ingredient in Actonel. Teva sought to market a generic version of Actonel in the United States under the assertion that the Actonel patent was not valid due to obviousness of the invention. On February 28, 2008, the Court ruled in favor of P&G, expressly rejecting Teva's validity challenge. Shortly afterwards, Teva filed an appeal of the decision. Oral arguments for the appeal were heard in December, 2008.

"We are very pleased and not surprised that the Court recognized and acknowledged the uniqueness of the risedronate molecule," said Tom Finn, P&G President, Global Health Care. "P&G pioneered the use of bisphosphonates in humans almost 30 years ago. We specifically selected Actonel for development versus a stable of many other bisphosphonates because our extensive R&D efforts suggested Actonel had many important, distinguishing characteristics including its potency and favorable safety profile. We will continue to invest in Actonel and continue to pursue development of future Actonel initiatives in the years to come."

The Actonel patent life extends through June 2014, assuming a pediatric extension. Actonel was approved in 2000 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention and treatment of osteopo
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