Aricept patent is still intact after lawsuit, says Eisai

NEW YORK Even after a decision by a U.S. court related to Japanese Eisai’s Alzheimer’s disease drug, Aricept, the company still insists that its patent is valid.

The U.S. District Court of New Jersey on Dec. 20 dismissed a suit filed by Eisai against Philadelphia-based Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. over the latter’s move to seek Food and Drug Administration approval for marketing a generic version of Aricept. The patent expires in three years.

Eisai Thursday said the ruling was issued on procedural grounds and doesn’t affect the validity of its Aricept patent, which the company believes remains valid through Nov. 25, 2010. Mutual Pharmaceutical still can’t sell a generic version of the drug, Eisai said.

The dismissal, Eisai stated, stemmed from the court’s decision that “there is no case or controversy between the parties, because Mutual did not make a certification challenging the Aricept patent and does not yet have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market its product,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Japanese company also said that the U.S. company will give 45 days’ notice of any introduction of a generic version of Aricept.

Eisai this month agreed to pay $3.9 billion to buy MGI Pharma to boost its growth prospects, giving it more reach in the U.S., where Eisai also is building a research-and-development facility.