As part of the settlement, Teva will pay up to $70 million to Pfizer. Teva was also provided with the option to sell its own generic version of cancer medication epirubicin, branded as Ellence, prior to its August 2007 patent expiry. In addition, Teva will not contest the validity of the patents.
The agreement will end litigation by Pfizer against Teva and Sicor, a company owned by Teva, over sales of idarubicin, the active ingredient in Idamycin and sales of azithromycin, the active ingredient in Zithromax.
Under the agreement, Sicor will be able to continue to market the generic version of Idamycin, which it launched prior to patent expiry in September 2002, and Teva can continue to sell its generic version of Zithromax.