US Patents rejects Teva's plea on Copaxone; Natco shares up

HYDERABAD: The US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected the application of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical seeking re-issue of patent for its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone. In July last year, a US court had ruled that the Israeli company's patent for the drug was invalid, thereby paving way for generic rivals to look at entering the market with copycat versions of the drug.

Copaxone, with $3.2 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in sales, accounts for a fifth of Teva's revenue and nearly half of its profits. In an attempt to block copycat versions, Teva Pharma had moved the US Supreme Court. Last Friday, the apex court agreed to hear the appeal filed by the drug maker.

On Friday, Natco Pharma announced that the US patent office "issued a final office action rejecting Teva's application seeking a reissue of US Patent No. 5,800,808 (the '808'patent), which was found to be invalid by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in July 2013." In a statement to stock exchanges, the Hyderabad headquartered drug maker said the US patents body found the claims of Teva 'unpatentable' while refusing to "extend patent protection on Copaxone past the patents that will expire in May 2014."

The stock markets reacted positively to the development and Natco Pharma shares gained 5.06% on the BSE to close at Rs 748.95 on a day the exchange's benchmark Sensex lost 0.66% to close at 22,359 points.