Shire: US Court Found Vyvanse Patents Were Infringed

By Ed Ballard

Shire PLC (SHP.LN) reported Wednesday that a U.S. court ruled that patents protecting Vyvanse, its bestselling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug, were infringed, saying the ruling prevents rival drugmakers from launching generic versions of the treatment.

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted Shire's summary judgment motion in a patent infringement lawsuit against five companies that have filed to launch generic versions of the drug, Shire said.

The companies--Actavis LLC, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Roxane Laboratories Inc., and Sandoz Inc.--must now appeal the ruling or wait until the patents expire in 2023, Dublin-based Shire said.

"We are extremely pleased with the court's ruling, which affirms Shire's belief that it has strong patents protecting Vyvanse," said Shire Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov.

The court also said U.K. specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey PLC (JMAT.LN), the supplier of the active ingredient in the drug to Shire's competitors, was "liable for inducing the ANDA Defendants' [the companies filing new drug applications] direct infringement of the compound claims," Shire reported.

A Johnson Matthey spokesman declined to comment.

Shire last week rejected a $46 billion takeover bid from U.S. rival AbbVie Inc., the latest attempt by a U.S. firm to buy a foreign-domiciled company in order to pay less tax.

Write to Ed Ballard at [e-mail]

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