Cephalon and Eurand File Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Barr Pharmaceuticals
26 November 2008 - 2:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
FRAZER, Pa. and PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Cephalon, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEPH) and Eurand, Inc. (NASDAQ:EURX) today
announced that they have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in
Delaware against Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiary,
Mylan, Inc., and Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiary,
Barr Laboratories, Inc., for infringement of Eurand's U.S. Patent
Number 7,387,793. This patent claims extended-release formulations
containing the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine, including AMRIX(R)
(Cyclobenzaprine Hydrochloride Extended-Release Capsules) and
expires February 26, 2025. The lawsuit is based upon Abbreviated
New Drug Applications (ANDAs) filed by Mylan and Barr, each seeking
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a generic
equivalent of the 15 mg and 30 mg strengths of AMRIX to be sold in
the United States. The Mylan ANDA alleges that the AMRIX patent
will not be infringed by its manufacture, use or sale of the
product described in its ANDA and reserves its right to challenge
the validity and/or enforceability of the AMRIX patent. The Barr
ANDA alleges that the AMRIX patent is invalid, unenforceable and/or
will not be infringed by its manufacture, use or sale of the
product described in its ANDA. AMRIX was approved by the FDA in
February 2007 for short-term use as an adjunct to rest and physical
therapy for relief of muscle spasm associated with acute, painful
musculoskeletal conditions. "We believe that the proposed Mylan and
Barr ANDA products will be found to infringe the AMRIX patent,"
said Jerry Pappert, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of
Cephalon. "The AMRIX patent was approved by the United States
Patent and Trademark Office and is presumed by law to be valid and
enforceable. The patent position for this product is strong and we
intend to vigorously defend the AMRIX intellectual property." "We
believe our Orange Book-listed patent provides coverage for AMRIX
until 2025 and we intend to work diligently with Cephalon to
protect this important product," said Manya S. Deehr, Eurand's
Chief Legal Officer. The filing of this lawsuit is provided for by
the Hatch-Waxman Act, a federal statute governing certain aspects
of generic drug approvals. Under that statute, the filing of the
lawsuit stays any FDA approval of the Mylan and Barr ANDAs until
the earlier of a district court judgment in favor of Mylan or Barr
or 30 months from the October 2008 receipt of the Mylan and Barr
Paragraph IV certification letters. Eurand developed AMRIX based on
its patented and proprietary drug delivery formulation
technologies. Cephalon is the exclusive licensee and marketer of
AMRIX in the United States. Concurrent with the patent protection
described above, Cephalon has a three-year period of marketing
exclusivity preventing FDA approval of a generic version of AMRIX
until February 2010. About Cephalon, Inc. Founded in 1987,
Cephalon, Inc. is an international biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of
innovative products in four core therapeutic areas: central nervous
system, pain, oncology and addiction. A member of the Fortune 1000,
Cephalon currently employs approximately 3,000 people in the United
States and Europe. U.S. sites include the company's headquarters in
Frazer, Pennsylvania, and offices, laboratories or manufacturing
facilities in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Salt Lake City, Utah, and
suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company's European
headquarters are located in Maisons-Alfort, France. The company's
proprietary products in the United States include: TREANDA(R)
(bendamustine hydrochloride) for injection, AMRIX, PROVIGIL(R)
(modafinil) Tablets [C-IV], FENTORA(R) (fentanyl buccal tablet)
[C-II], TRISENOX(R) (arsenic trioxide) injection, VIVITROL(R)
(naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension),
GABITRIL(R) (tiagabine hydrochloride), NUVIGIL(R) (armodafinil)
Tablets [C-IV] and ACTIQ(R) (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate)
[C-II]. The company also markets numerous products internationally.
Full prescribing information on its U.S. products is available at
http://www.cephalon.com/ or by calling 1-800-896-5855. About Eurand
Eurand is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops,
manufactures and commercializes enhanced pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug
formulation technologies. Eurand has had four products approved by
the FDA since 2001 and has a pipeline of product candidates in
development for itself and its collaboration partners. Eurand's
technology platforms include bioavailability enhancement of poorly
soluble drugs, customized release, taste-masking/fast-dissolving
formulations and drug conjugation. Eurand is a global company with
facilities in the U.S. and Europe. For more information, visit
Eurand's website at http://www.eurand.com/. Cephalon
Forward-Looking Statement In addition to historical facts or
statements of current condition, this press release may contain
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide
Cephalon's current expectations or forecasts of future events.
These may include statements regarding anticipated scientific
progress on its research programs; development of potential
pharmaceutical products; interpretation of clinical results;
manufacturing development and capabilities; market prospects for
its products; sales and earnings guidance; and other statements
regarding matters that are not historical facts, including
statements regarding whether the Mylan ANDA product or Barr ANDA
product infringes the AMRIX patent, the strength of the patent
position for AMRIX or Cephalon's intention to defend the AMRIX
intellectual property. You may identify some of these
forward-looking statements by the use of words in the statements
such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend,"
"plan," "believe" or other words and terms of similar meaning.
Cephalon's performance and financial results could differ
materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements
due to general financial, economic, regulatory and political
conditions affecting the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries as well as more specific risks and uncertainties facing
Cephalon such as those set forth in its reports on Form 8-K, 10-Q
and 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Given these risks and uncertainties, any or all of these
forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Therefore,
you should not rely on any such factors or forward- looking
statements. Furthermore, Cephalon does not intend to update
publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits this
discussion. Eurand Forward-Looking Statement This release, and oral
statements made with respect to information contained in this
release, constitutes forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements include those which express plan,
anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future
development and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact
including, but not limited to the future and status of our NDA
filing for EUR-1008, enrollment and future plans for our clinical
trials, progress of and reports of results from clinical studies,
clinical development plans and product development activities. The
words "potentially", "anticipates", "could", "calls for" and
similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. These
statements are based upon management's current expectations and are
subject to risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, which could
cause actual results and developments to differ materially from
those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could
affect actual results include risks associated with the possibility
that the FDA does not approve our NDA or continues to delay
approval; the outcome of any discussions with the FDA; and
unexpected delays or additional requirements in preparation of
materials for submission to the FDA as a part of our NDA filing.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made
as of this date, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update
any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Actual events could differ
materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking
statements. DATASOURCE: Cephalon, Inc. CONTACT: Media, Candace
Steele, +1-610-727-6231 (office), +1-484-325-4860 (cell), , or
Investors, Chip Merritt, +1-610-738-6376 (office), , both of
Cephalon, Inc.; or Bill Newbould of Eurand, Inc., +1-267-759-9335
(office), +1-610-203-7663 (cell), ; or Nick Laudico,
+1-646-536-7030, , or Sara Ephraim, +1-646-536-7002, , both of The
Ruth Group for Eurand Web site: http://www.cephalon.com/ Company
News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/134563.html
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