Teva Pharmaceutical Industries may have failed at challenging Pfizer's Viagra patent in the U.S., but its efforts in Russia have been more successful. A quick patent fight has ended in settlement, giving Teva the chance to keep selling its version of the erectile dysfunction remedy.
The Israeli generics maker started selling its Viagra copycat in Russia in August, under the brand name Dynamico. Pfizer ($PFE) sued, of course, claiming in a Moscow court that Teva had violated its patent rights. The U.S.-based company had sold $117 million worth of Viagra in Russia in 2010, making it the third-biggest-selling drug in the country.
But as PharmaLetter now reports, that dispute appears to be wrapped up. Teva will keep selling Dynamico in the Russian market. Just how Pfizer and Teva settled their patent fight isn't clear, nor are the terms under which Teva will market the drug. The research firm Pharmexpert told Reuters earlier this year that for the first 8 months of 2011, Viagra sales in Russia were up 14% by $86.7 million.
In August, Pfizer won a U.S. patent infringement case against Teva, in a ruling that will prohibit the generics maker from selling its Viagra copy till 2019. Teva has appealed the decision, but since then, Pfizer has also won more than $370,000 in attorneys fees in the same case.
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