Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) sued Synthon BV for infringing seven patents in planning to sell a generic version of the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone before Teva’s patents expire.
Teva, based in Petach Tikva, Israel, said it licensed the patents from Yeda Research & Development Co., according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in New York.
Copaxone, used to reduce the frequency of relapses in multiple sclerosis patients, generated sales of $3.9 billion in 2011. Synthon filed an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval of a generic version of the drug, according to the complaint.......
"$3,900,000,000 is a staggering sum of money for the global sales of an MS drug. No wonder the big pharma companies are joining the party. MS is blockbuster disease. The problem I have with the costs of MS drugs, which keep on rising is it becomes increasingly difficult to get them approved by NICE. This means that even we did get a drug that could potentially cure MS it may be too expensive to be considered cost-effective. This sounds bizarre; but NICE only look at direct costs to the NHS and not other costs, for example the revenue generated by keeping someone in work, or the benefit costs of being unemployed, or the costs of not needing a carer. This is why we have to fight every negative NICE decision and lobby for them to change their methods of assessment."