US Appeals Court upholds Pfizer's Lyrica patent until 2018

US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has prevailed in protecting  intellectual property for its blockbuster drug Lyrica (pregabalin), saying a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld the composition of matter patent covering the drug.

In its concluding statement, the Appeals Cour said: “We have considered the Appellants’ remaining arguments and do not find them to be persuasive. We hold that the District Court did not err in its conclusion that claim 2 of the ’819 patent has been infringed, and that Appellants failed to prove that the claim is not enabled, insufficiently described, or obvious.”

Protection for $4.6 billion drug

Lyrica, a treatment for shingles, fibromyalgia, epilepsy, and hot flashes, is now the biggest-selling drug for Pfizer, generating sales of $4.59 billion (up 11% year-on-year) for the company last year, making up about 9% of the firm’s revenues (The Pharma Letter January 29).