Dive Brief:
- Supernus Pharmaceuticals successfully defended its patent for an epilepsy drug, after a federal judge ruled Allergan's generic version infringed on Supernus' patent.
- The drug, Oxtellar XR, is one of two products sold by Supernus and treats partial epileptic seizures in patients aged six and above.
- Actavis (now Allergan) had filed an application to produce a generic version of the drug back in March 2013, two months after Supernus launched Oxtellar XR.
Dive Insight:
Allergan attempted to claim that Supernus' patents on the drug were invalid, according to court papers cited by Reuters. However, in addition to declaring Allergan's generic would infringe on Supernus patents, U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb ruled all of Supernus' patents were valid in a non-jury verdict.
Supernus' two main drugs both focus on treatment of epilepsy—making the defense of Oxtellar XR critical to the company's survival. The market responded well to the trial outcome, with Supernus stock jumping as much as 44% on Friday. It continued to climb in early Monday trading.
The case was heard in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.