Double whammy as firm settles subsidiary pay-for-delay suit and courts invalidate patents on multiple sclerosis drug

Generics giant Teva has agreed to pay $225 million (£180 million) to settle a class-action lawsuit in the US relating to its subsidiary, Barr Laboratories. Barr was one of several firms accused of accepting a pay-for-delay deal from Bayer to hold back introduction of generic forms of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in the 1990s. All the other defendants in the suit, which has been running for over 15 years, have already settled the claims against them, so Teva’s settlement should resolve the case.

 A US court has also struck Teva a blow by ruling that four of its patents relating to multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection) are invalid. Teva had been attempting to defend these patents against what it saw as infringement by six companies, including Mylan, which are trying to introduce generic versions of the drug. Teva’s chief executive, Erez Vigodman, said that the company will ‘move forward with an immediate appeal’.

The ruling comes less than a month after Teva settled a separate case with the US Department of Justice over corruption charges.

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