POZEN Patents Upheld in Patent Litigation Appeal
a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicines that transform lives, today announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the August 5, 2011 decision of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that had issued a favorable verdict in the litigation between POZEN and several generic pharmaceutical companies which had filed Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market generic copies of (sumatriptan / naproxen sodium). is marketed by POZEN's exclusive U.S. licensee, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The Federal Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court ruling which held that U.S. Patent Nos. 6,060,499 (the ʼ499 patent) and 6,586,458 (the ʼ458 patent) were valid, enforceable and infringed by Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Par), Alphapharm Pty Ltd. (Alphapharm), and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. (DRL). A third patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,332,183 (the ʼ183 patent) covering the formulation was valid, enforceable and infringed by Par and DRL. The ʼ183 patent was not asserted against Alphapharm.
POZEN was represented throughout the litigation by Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., including intellectual property partners Bill Schuurman and Steve Hash.
“We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has upheld the Eastern District of Texas’ ruling in favor of POZEN, thus upholding the patents protecting ” said John R. Plachetka, Pharm.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of POZEN Inc.
In November 2011, POZEN sold most of the future royalty and milestone payments under its collaboration and license agreement with Glaxo Group Limited, part of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies (GSK), covering sales in the United States to a financial investor for $75 million. By virtue of the agreement, the financial investor will be entitled to receive royalties on net sales of and any other products containing sumatriptan and naproxen sodium developed and sold by GSK under the collaboration and license agreement in the United States on or after October 1, 2011. POZEN retains rights to 20% of royalties paid on net sales of and such other products in the United States, beginning in the second quarter of 2018.
POZEN Inc. is a progressive pharmaceutical company that is transforming how the healthcare industry addresses unmet medical needs. By utilizing a unique in-source model and focusing on integrated therapies, POZEN has successfully developed and obtained FDA approval of two self-invented products in two years. Funded by these milestone/royalty streams, POZEN is now creating a portfolio of cost-effective, evidence based integrated aspirin therapies designed to enable the full power of aspirin by reducing its GI damage.
POZEN is currently seeking strategic partners to help maximize the opportunity for its portfolio assets.
The Company's common stock is traded under the symbol “POZN” on The NASDAQ Global Market. For more detailed company information, including copies of this and other press releases, please visit .
POZEN is creating a portfolio of integrated aspirin therapies - the PA product platform. The products in the PA portfolio are intended to significantly reduce GI ulcers and other GI complications compared to taking aspirin alone.
The first candidates are PA32540, containing 325 mg of aspirin, and PA8140, containing 81 mg of aspirin. Both products are a coordinated-delivery tablet combining immediate-release omeprazole (40 mg), a proton pump inhibitor, layered around pH-sensitive aspirin. This novel, patented product is administered orally once a day and an indication will be sought for use for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients at risk for aspirin-induced ulcers.
(sumatriptan / naproxen sodium)was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2008 for the acute treatment of migraine attacks, with or without aura, in adults. The product is formulated with POZEN’s patented technology of combining a triptan with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) RT Technology™. This migraine medication contains sumatriptan, a 5-HT1 receptor agonist that mediates vasoconstriction of the human basilar artery and vasculature of human dura mater, which correlates with the relief of migraine headache. It also contains naproxen, an NSAID that inhibits the synthesis of inflammatory mediators. Therefore, sumatriptan and naproxen contribute to the relief of migraine through pharmacologically different mechanisms of action. As a result of this dual mechanism of action, has been shown to provide superior sustained pain relief compared to placebo and to both of the single mechanism of action components.
For Full Prescribing Information see .