Hot off its cholesterol win over Merck
In a Securities and Exchange document filed yesterday, the company said it has settled a patent dispute with generic-drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals
While there's no way to be certain, those unspecified circumstances may have to do with the ratio of prescriptions of TriCor to its follow-up drug, Trilipix. Abbott needs to convert patients to the new drug before conceding the old one to the generic-drug barracudas. If Abbott was smart, it negotiated an extension in case it couldn't convert enough patients by the March 2011 date.
The other advantage to settling is that Abbott will know exactly when the generic drug will launch. Teva has a habit of making preemptive strikes -- launching before a court has its final say. Those launches have sent brand-drug makers such as Wyeth and AstraZeneca
Abbott still has pending litigation with Biovail
Pharmaceutcial companies have to know when to pick their battles. They have to know when to run a head-to-head trial and know when to settle lawsuits. Kenny Rogers would be proud of Abbott.
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