Extraordinary TEVA Fine Sign of Increase Pharma Industry Protection: Kalorama

NEW YORK - June 24, 2013 - PRLog -- The recent NJ court decision against TEVA Pharmaceuticals and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and in favor of Pfizer is a sign of increasing protection for the pharmaceutical industry, according to Kalorama Information.  The healthcare market research marketer said a decision for over 2 billion dollars to Pfizer due to an early infringement of their patent is a sign that the courts are enforcing drug industry rights in the wake of the industry’s declining sales numbers.   The penalty is large, according to the healthcare market researcher’s database Knowledge Center, which says that in comparison TEVA Pharmaceutical’s revenues were 18 billion in 2011.  

A NJ court has moved to protect the pharmaceutical industry in a way that surprised some industry experts.  TEVA Industries Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd would pay $2.15 billion to settle a patent suit related to its acid-reflux drug.  According to Kalorama, this is an unusual court case that represents a protective view of pharma in a economically shrinking environment for the industry.    
"There may be a trend to improve protection for brand pharmaceuticals as the interest in development has slowed in the area," said Kalorama pharmaceutical analyst Melissa Elder.  

The Pfizer drug, Protonix, recorded peak annual revenue of almost $2 billion in 2007, before sales plunged following the launch of generic versions by Teva in 2007 and Sun Pharma in 2008.The Prontonix suit is the first instance of generic drugmakers paying damages for marketing a copy of an existing drug for which patents have yet to expire.   The tactic has been called 'at-risk' launch.  

It’s not clear if a lot more suits will follow, says Kalorama.  The patent covering the active ingredient in Protonix -- pantoprazole -- expired in January 2011 was unique among these types of lawsuits as it involved a "composition of matter patent" - one of the stronger patent protections.

TEVA's Revenues were 18 billion in 2011 according to Kalorama Information's Knowledge Center.  Kalorama Information’s Knowledge Center is a collection of hundreds of market research studies conducted in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical devices since 1998.  Knowledge center contains thousands of tables of healthcare market research.  Information can be obtained at http://kc.kaloramainformation.com/about-ki

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research (http://www.kaloramainformation.com/) in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/KaloramaInfo), LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2177845&trk=hb_side_g) and our blog (http://www.kaloramakeypoint.blogspot.com).