Teva sued over generic heartburn medication
NEW YORK Wyeth and Nycomed are suing Israeli drug maker Teva to prevent it from marketing a generic version of Protonix IV.
Protonix (pantoprazole sodium) is an injected drug used to treat chronic heartburn. Teva sent an April 25 letter to Nycomed and Wyeth notifying them that it had filed an application for a generic version of Protonix. The ‘579 patent, which covers the drug, expires in July 2010.
Wyeth and Nycomed filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey June 11 asking for the court to make Teva wait until the patent expires before marketing the drug.
Nycomed and Wyeth also filed suit against Sandoz last month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois when Sandoz applied to market a generic version of Protonix.