Here's some PR from ICN responding to the attacks on their ribavirin patent:
Friday March 1, 6:01 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ICN Pharmaceuticals Defends Ribavirin Patent
COSTA MESA, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: ICN - news) today released the following response regarding potential infringement on its ribavirin patent:
There have been questions raised in recent days about our patent position with respect to the use of ribavirin in combination with interferon alpha or pegylated interferon for use in the treatment of hepatitis C.
Last year three companies filed Abbreviated New Drug Applications challenging ribavirin patents. Other challenges could come forward. Lawsuits have been filed against two of the companies that will not come to trial for thirty months from filing at the earliest. If other challenges come forward, similar lawsuits will be filed.
ICN holds a very strong intellectual property position. There is no NDA for ribavirin alone. There are broad method of use and related patents held by ICN, and for combination therapy with interferon, by Schering-Plough, that extend to 2015-17. (In the EU and Japan, ICN has applied for extensions for important patents to about 2010.) In our license agreement with Schering- Plough, they are prohibited from licensing ribavirin to other companies either for mono or combination therapy.
ICN has licensed ribavirin to no other company, nor are we obliged to do so, for use in combination therapy with interferon. Any such use would be deemed a patent infringement and would be treated as such and responded to vigorously.
ICN's legal position is formidable, and we will vigorously resist attempts to weaken our market position by anyone claiming otherwise.
ICN is an innovative, research-based global pharmaceutical company that manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of prescription and non- prescription pharmaceuticals under the ICN brand name. Its therapeutic focus is on anti-infectives, including anti-virals, dermatology and oncology.
Additional information is also available on the Company's website at icnpharm.com .
THE SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, projections of future sales, operating income, returns on invested assets, regulatory approval processes, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
For further information please contact: Investors, Joe Schepers, +1-212-754-4422, or Media, Peter Murphy, +1-714-545-0100 ext. 3213, both of ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
SOURCE: ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Any comment IJ? I know this is an issue you've been following some.
Peter |
