Patent Law

The following is excerpted from an article by AP Business Writer, Aoife White, published by the Miami Herald:

European Union regulators said Thursday that they suspect Danish drug maker Lundbeck may have delayed the launch of a cheaper, generic version of its antidepressant drug in Europe.

The European Commission said it had opened a formal antitrust investigation to check whether H. Lundbeck A/S made deals with other pharmaceutical companies to delay them selling citalopram after Lundbeck's exclusive right to the drug it developed ran out in 2003.

The company recently patented escitalopram, which is chemically similar to citalopram. Three generics companies tried to challenge that patent in the British courts, claiming it was not significantly different to the original drug. In 2008, Lundbeck won on appeal, protecting its patent.

The EU's competition commissioner Neelie Kroes warned in July that major drug makers face a wave of antitrust investigations after regulators concluded a broad inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector that said drugs companies are deliberately stalling cheaper generic versions of their own medicines once exclusive patents expire.

Read the full article here.