Pfizer Wins Viagra Patent Case vs. Teva

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. “rises” to the occasion, beating Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in their court battle over the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.

The world’s biggest drugmaker Pfizer Inc. announced on Monday that it has won the patent infringement case against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, preventing the latter from launching a generic version of erectile dysfunction drug Viagra.

In a statement, Pfizer said that a federal court judge on Friday ruled the patent dispute over Viagra patent was valid and enforceable, and has prohibited Teva from launching a generic version of the drug until October 2019.

But the decision, according to Pfizer, is still subject to appeal.

Many analysts were surprised by the decision, most of which expected Viagra to lose its market exclusivity next year.

The analysts said that the ruling provided a sigh of relief to Pfizer, which may also lose exclusivity to its best-selling drug – the cholesterol fighting Lipitor. In 2010, Pfizer said that its Lipitor sales hit almost $11 billion.

“Viagra has over $1 billion in sales in the United States and over $2 billion worldwide in 2010. The retention of Viagra to Pfizer’s arsenal is worth 3 to 4 percent in additional earnings per share for the company until its patent expired in 2019,” an analyst said.

Sought for comment, a spokesperson for Teva said that they are still reviewing the court documents, adding that they would come out with an official statement in the coming days.

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