AstraZeneca's Crestor patent rule invalid in Australia

5 March 2013

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) revealed this morning that the Federal Court of Australia has found three patents protecting the firm’s blockbuster cholesterol lowerer Crestor (rosuvastatin) to be invalid.

These patents – a formulation patent (AU 200051842, with an expiry date in 2020); a second related to the use of rosuvastatin for treating heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (AU 2002214165, with an expiry date in 2021); and a third related to the use of rosuvastatin for treating hypercholesterolemia (AU 2000023051, with an expiry date in 2020) – were challenged by Apotex Pty Ltd, Watson Pharma Pty Ltd and Ascent Pharma Pty Ltd.

The Federal Court decision is limited to Australia and has no impact on the validity of patents related to Crestor in other countries nor does it have any impact on AstraZeneca’s financial guidance for 2013, which will, in accordance with normal practice, be reviewed in conjunction with the announcement of first quarter financial results on April 25, the company said.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK