AstraZeneca wins vital Seroquel battle

Anglo-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca has scored a vital victory in defending the patent on its blockbuster drug Seroquel.

A US District Court in New Jersey found in AstraZeneca's favour after generic firms Teva and Sandoz tried to file rival products based on the drug.

The drug's US patent now looks safe until 2011, guaranteeing billions of dollars in sales which had looked to be in jeopardy. Teva and Sandoz said AstraZeneca had used 'inequitable conduct' when filing the patent, but the judge threw out the claim and the case is now definitively closed.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder treatment Seroquel is AstraZeneca's second biggest selling drug after Nexium. It achieved sales of just over $4 billion last year, representing almost 14% of the group's total sales, and a premature patent loss would have been a major blow to the company.

"We are pleased with the Court's decision to uphold our valid intellectual property. Seroquel remains an important part of our company's portfolio benefiting patients and physicians throughout the world," said AstraZeneca's chief executive David Brennan.

The ruling is the second key patent challenge that AstraZeneca has been able to resolve this year.

In April, it settled a dispute with Ranbaxy over Nexium. The companies struck a deal with that will see AstraZeneca retain exclusivity until 2014 in the US, after which Ranbaxy will have a short period as the exclusive generic producer.