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Accord Healthcare Ltd. has successfully resolved the case against AstraZeneca relating to the validity of the patent covering quetiapine ER (Seroquel®).
Judgment in the case was handed down by the Court of Appeal on the 30th of April and confirms the decision of the UK High Court in March 2012 that AstraZeneca’s patent is invalid, allowing Accord Healthcare UK to launch its generic version of Seroquel®.
As Part of the Intas Group, Accord Healthcare is a young and dynamic pharmaceutical company, involved in the development, manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical products to over 50 markets around the world and committed to providing patients with the best possible care. The decision to fight this action is vindicated by the Court’s judgment and means that the over five million patients in the UK with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder now have better access to a more convenient and effective medicine.
Accord will continue to actively extend the number of products that are brought to market and this decision is a reminder of the hurdles faced by generic companies in commercialising products in Europe.
Taylor Wessing has represented Accord Healthcare Limited, Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited, and other two parties in the UK proceedings.
The Seroquel®brand, AstraZeneca’s second-best seller behind cholesterol drug Crestor®, accounted for 17% of the company’s sales of $33.6 billion in 2011. Sales of Seroquel XR® were $1.49 billion or 4.4% of total revenue.
