Lek filed Patent Lawsuit against BMS & Watson, seeking monetary compensation!

Novartis’s unit Lek has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall) against Bristol-Myer Squibb and Watson Laboratories Inc. seeking royalties against its two U.S. Patent Nos. 6,740,775 (the ‘775 patent) and 7,078,558 (the ‘558 patent) covering crystalline forms of pravastatin, the key ingredient of anti-cholesterol drug Pravachol. Lek claims that the BMS version of the drug uses crystalline forms of pravastatin covered by ‘775 and ‘558 patents, which claims sodium salt pravastatin in crystalline form having improved purity and stability. Pravastatin is exemplified and disclosed in the U.S. Patent No. 4,346,227 (the ‘227 patent) which recently expired on April 20, 2006. Watson markets a generic Pravachol under an agreement with BMS. Lek, which also received Food and Drug Administration approval to market a generic Pravachol in October 2006, is seeking monetary compensation and a court order to bar BMS and Watson from infringing the patents. Lek DD v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., 2:06-cv- 00547, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall).