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news.The European Patent Office has ruled that a European patent covering AstraZeneca's Nexium and Losec tablets is still valid in an amended form, despite four oppositions from generic drug manufacturers.
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The decision means that this patent covering a multiple unit tablet is still valid in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, UK, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia until 2015.
The patent relates to multiple unit pellet tablets (MUPS), comprising a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) compound. The formulation is used for Nexium and Losec tablets and the amended claims still cover these products.
AstraZeneca said that it has a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio protecting MUPS formulations as well as the products Nexium and Losec. More importantly, the intellectual property portfolio protecting Nexium includes additional patents with expiration dates ranging from 2009 through to 2018. In addition to these patents, Nexium has data exclusivity valid until March 2010 in most major European markets.