Although Novartis' Sandoz generic drug unit was hoping to resume marketing of its version of the antibiotic Biaxin XL, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington put a stop to it.
Abbott Laboratories' Biaxin XL became the subject of a patent dispute shortly after Sandoz began selling a copy in December 2006. However, the judge in the Appeals Court said that Sandoz was likely to lose anyway, so there was no reason to overturn the lower court ruling that Sandoz did indeed infringe on Abbott's patent.
Teva Pharmaceutical and Andrx, a subsidiary of Watson Pharmaceuticals, earlier reached settlements with Abbott regarding selling the drug. Abbott says overall its Biaxin XL patent is steadfast until 2017 and thus should remain free from genetic competition.
- see the story in the Daily Herald