Sarafem patent upheld
Executive Summary
D.C. federal appeals court upholds Sarafem (fluoxetine) use patent as valid and infringed by Teva's ANDA in a July 13 FDL-1ruling. The premenstrual dysphoric disorder product, a repackaged version of Prozac, was launched by Lilly in August 2000; the company divested it to Galen/Warner Chilcott in 2002 (1"The Pink Sheet" Dec.16, 2002, p. 34). The appellate court rejected Teva's arguments that the Indianapolis district court erred by construing the patent claim to include dosing regimens "that go on continuously." The court also disagreed with Teva's argument that the lower court improperly ruled the patent invalid for reasons of obviousness (2"The Pink Sheet" Aug. 23, 2004, In Brief)...