AstraZeneca Seroquel XR patent ruled invalid in UK; eyeing Forest buy?

23 March 2012

In another setback regarding intellectual property on its blockbuster antipsychotic drug, AstraZeneca today announced that the High Court in the UK has rendered a negative opinion on the formulation patent protecting Seroquel XR (quetiapine fumarate) prolonged-release tablets currently pending in the UK court.

Earlier this month AstraZeneca filed a law suit against the US Food and Drug Administration to overturn the FDA's denial on last week of the company's Citizen Petitions with regard to Seroquel and Seroquel XR following its Citizen Petitions files in 2011, in which the drugmaker raised important issues regarding labeling requirements for generic copies of innovative medicines, as well as data exclusivity rights granted to innovative companies that conduct new clinical trials (The Pharma Letter March 13).

Patent challengers

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