22nd Nov 2005 07:03
AstraZeneca PLC22 November 2005 AstraZeneca Commences Patent Infringement Litigation Against RanbaxyLaboratories AstraZeneca announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the United StatesDistrict Court for the District of New Jersey against Ranbaxy Laboratories forwillful infringement of AstraZeneca's patents protecting NEXIUM(R) (esomeprazolemagnesium). The lawsuit is in response to an Abbreviated New Drug Application filed byRanbaxy with the US Food and Drug Administration regarding Ranbaxy's intent tomarket a generic version of AstraZeneca's NEXIUM in the US prior to theexpiration of six AstraZeneca Patents: 5,714,504; 5,877,192; 6,369,085;6,428,810, 6,875,872 and 5,948,789. The expiration dates for these patentsrange from 2014 through 2019. AstraZeneca has full confidence in and will continue vigorously to defend andenforce its intellectual property rights protecting NEXIUM. 22 November 2005 Media Enquiries: Edel McCaffrey, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5034Steve Brown, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5033Investor Enquiries: Mina Blair, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5084Jonathan Hunt, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5087Ed Seage, Tel: +1 302 886 4065Jorgen Winroth, Tel + 1 212 579 0506 -Ends- This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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