WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today confirmed that the Unites States District Court for the District of New Jersey has denied a motion filed by Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Albany Molecular Research, Inc. that would have forced Barr and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to cease marketing Fexofenadine Hydrochloride 30 mg, 60 mg and 180 mg Tablets, the generic versions of Aventis’ Allegra(R) Tablets. On September 6, 2005 Barr and Teva announced that they had entered into an agreement and launched the Fexofenadine Hydrochloride Tablet products.
“We are extremely pleased that the Court decision will allow American allergy sufferers to continue to save on their Fexofenadine Hydrochloride Tablet prescription,” said Bruce L. Downey, Barr’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Since our September launch, consumers have realized considerable savings as a result of the competition our product has created. We will continue to defend our launch of this product as we pursue the underlying patent challenge litigation with Aventis.”
Under its agreement with Teva, Barr took the regulatory steps necessary to permit Teva to obtain final U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Teva’s Fexofenadine Hydrochloride Tablets and to sell the product within Barr’s 180-day exclusivity period. Barr was the first generic applicant to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) containing a paragraph IV patent challenge on the patents related to the Allegra(R) tablet products and consequently was granted 180 days exclusivity, which it has now transferred to Teva.
In June 2004 Barr and Teva were granted summary judgment of non-infringement with respect to three patents, and were granted summary judgment of invalidity on an additional patent in the case in April 2005. Several patents remain in the litigation. Although no trial date has been set, the companies expect that a trial will occur sometime in 2006.
Allegra(R) (Fexofenadine Hydrochloride) is indicated for the relief of symptoms associated with seasonal allergic rhinitis and for the treatment of uncomplicated skin manifestations of chronic idiopathic urticaria in adults and children 6 years of age and older.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Barr Laboratories, Inc. and Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., develop, manufacture and market generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by their use of words such as “expects,” “plans,” “projects,” “will,” “may,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “should,” “intends,” “estimates” and other words of similar meaning. Because such statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements depending upon a number of factors affecting the Company’s business. These factors include, among others: the difficulty in predicting the timing and outcome of legal proceedings, including patent-related matters such as patent challenge settlements and patent infringement cases; the outcome of litigation arising from challenging the validity or non- infringement of patents covering our products; the difficulty of predicting the timing of FDA approvals; court and FDA decisions on exclusivity periods; the ability of competitors to extend exclusivity periods for their products; our ability to complete product development activities in the timeframes and for the costs we expect; market and customer acceptance and demand for our pharmaceutical products; our dependence on revenues from significant customers; reimbursement policies of third party payors; our dependence on revenues from significant products; the use of estimates in the preparation of our financial statements; the impact of competitive products and pricing on products, including the launch of authorized generics; the ability to launch new products in the timeframes we expect; the availability of raw materials; the availability of any product we purchase and sell as a distributor; the regulatory environment; our exposure to product liability and other lawsuits and contingencies; the increasing cost of insurance and the availability of product liability insurance coverage; our timely and successful completion of strategic initiatives, including integrating companies and products we acquire and implementing our new enterprise resource planning system; fluctuations in operating results, including the effects on such results from spending for research and development, sales and marketing activities and patent challenge activities; the inherent uncertainty associated with financial projections; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statement was made. The Company undertakes no obligation (nor does it intend) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable law.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Carol A. Cox of Barr Pharmaceuticals, +1-201-930-3720, orccox@barrlabs.com
Web site: http://www.barrlabs.com//
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