U.S. court clears Teva sales of generic Lotrel

A U.S. court on Monday refused to prohibit Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from selling a generic version of Novartis' Lotrel blood-pressure treatment, and Teva said it would resume shipments of the drug immediately.

In its decision, the U.S. Court for the District of New Jersey found that Novartis'spatent-infringement lawsuit against Teva was not likely to succeed at trial, Teva said.

The court also vacated a temporary restraining order against Teva that had been in place since late last month, the Israel-based company, one of the world's largest generic drug makers, said.

Teva's versions of Lotrel, known generically as amlodipine besylate/benazepril, were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 18.

Novartis won an emergency court order soon after, halting shipments of the Teva treatment. But in the interim, a three-month supply of the drug made its way to wholesalers and retail customers, according to A.G. Edwards analyst Joseph Tooley.

In its second week on the market, Teva's generic had already captured 41 percent of total prescriptions in the Lotrel market, Tooley said in an earlier research note.

Annual sales of the brand version of Lotrel had been about $1.4 billion in the United States, according to Teva.

In a press release, Novartis said it would continue to defend the intellectual property for Lotrel, contending it has a U.S. patent valid until 2017. A trial date has not been set for its patent-infringement suit.

The Swiss-based drugmaker also said it would immediately launch its own generic version of Lotrel in the United States. It said it plans to update its 2007 financial outlook next month, when it reports quarterly results.

Shares of Teva rose 2.3% to $39.77 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq yesterday.