Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) announced today it is seeking to amend its existing complaint against Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc./Sandoz Inc. to include patent infringement of three additional patents related to the characterization of COPAXONE® (glatiramer acetate injection). The proposed updated complaint has been filed under seal with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York along with a motion requesting that the Court grant Teva leave to amend.
Teva originally filed suit against Momenta/Sandoz in August 2008 for infringement of multiple patents (seven in the Orange Book which extend through May 24, 2014), covering the chemical composition of COPAXONE®, pharmaceutical compositions containing it and methods of using it. Teva seeks leave to amend its complaint to include the additional patents related to the characterization of the active ingredient in COPAXONE®. These patents do not expire until several years after the patents currently in litigation.
COPAXONE® is a highly-complicated product to develop and manufacture, and given the inability to fully characterize the active ingredients of COPAXONE®, Teva has serious doubts about any generic applicant’s ability to demonstrate conclusively that the composition of its product is identical to that of COPAXONE®. Internal research at Teva has indicated that even minor changes in the synthetic process and/or molecular weight distribution of a glatiramoid (glatiramir acetate-like substance) can have severe ramifications on the safety and mechanism of action of the product.