Court upholds ruling on Prilosec infringement

NEW YORK A federal appeals court has affirmed that Apotex and Impax infringed on AstraZeneca’s patent for the drug Prilosec.

The court upheld the decision in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruling that the two companies infringed AstraZeneca’s ‘505 and ‘230 patents relating to omeprazole, the active ingredient in the heartburn drug.

AstraZeneca sued Impax in the district court after it filed an approval application with the Food and Drug Administration in December 1999 for a generic version of Prilosec in 10- and 20-mg doses.

Prilosec had global sales of $1.14 billion in 2007, according to AstraZeneca financial data.