US Anti-cholesterol Drug Patent Upheld

Added on : 13 July 2010
Filed under : Patents, Designs & Copyright

US Patent RE 37,314, which covers the anti-cholesterol drug Rosuvastatin marketed by AstraZeneca under the brand name Crestor™, has been upheld by the US District Court of Delaware following lengthy trial proceedings.
The US Judge, finding the patent – originally granted in 1993 - to be valid and enforceable, rejected a challenge brought by several generic drug manufacturers that the Japanese company Shionogi, who first developed the drug, had not properly disclosed prior art to the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The ruling, however, specifically found that no inequitable conduct was committed by any Shionogi employee. Crestor™ is one of AstraZeneca’s leading products, generating sales of £2.9bn in 2009.

Share prices in AstraZeneca and Shionogi rose dramatically following the announcement of the judgement on 29th June 2010.