US court upholds patent for drug

A US federal court recently upheld the patent for Fosomax, a blockbuster osteoporosis drug produced by Merck, a US pharmaceuticals group which was being challenged by two generic drug makers to enable them to make cheaper versions of the drug.

A Financial Times report from New York said a district court in Delaware ruled against Teva Pharmaceuticals and Ivas Pharmaceutical, two Israeli companies which were attempting to launch inexpensive versions of Fosomax. Merck’s patent on the drug, which generated $455 million in sales last quarter, is valid until August 2007.

Drug patents have been a recurring issue in developing countries, including the Philippines, where attempts by local pharmaceutical companies to produce lower priced versions of patented drugs have often been blocked by the patent holders. These countries claim that long-held patent rights have been a major cause for high drug prices.

Teva and Ivas both filed for approval of generic versions of the drug with the US Food and Drug Administration in 1999. A year later, Merck filed a lawsuit claiming the two companies were infringing on its patent.