Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Bottom line for MNTA re expiration of US Copaxone patents:

All nine of the patents at issue in Teva’s lawsuit against NVS/MNTA in the US District Court expire on May 24, 2014. As discussed in the documents for this suit (#msg-54150823), Teva tried to include additional patents in the case against NVS/MNTA that have a later expiration date, but the Judge refused to allow those patents to be admitted. Unless this ruling by the District Court is overturned on appeal, NVS/MNTA do not have to be concerned with any US Copaxone patents that run beyond May 24, 2014.

Teva’s patent lawsuit against Mylan is separate from Teva’s suit against NVS/MNTA, and hence Teva may be able to get the District Court to admit patents into the suit against Mylan that are not at issue in the suit against NVS/MNTA. I think Teva’s mentioning the Sep 2015 expiration date in the second paragraph of its 9/21/10 press release about the Mylan suit (http://www.tevapharm.com/pr/2010/pr_959.asp ) is yet another instance of disingenuous behavior (a/k/a FUD), but it’s up to the District Court to decide what the proper expiration date of those patents is. Fortunately, this is Mylan’s problem, not MNTA’s problem (and not mine).