Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC today announced that it had reached final settlement with Schering Corporation in the patent litigation case involving the drug ribavirin (Rebetol).
Three Rivers is currently seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and commercially market a generic form of the drug ribavirin.
Under the terms of the settlement Schering has provided a non-exclusive license to Three Rivers for all its U.S. patents related to this drug product. In return for this license, Three Rivers will pay Schering a reasonable royalty based upon net sales of its generic version of the product. The parties have been in litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Agreement is subject to the Courts dismissal of the relevant lawsuits.
Three Rivers is also currently in litigation with Ribapharm, Inc., regarding certain patents that Ribapharm asserts relate to ribavirin. A trial date in that litigation is scheduled for May 2003. Three Rivers does not have tentative approval from the FDA at this time, although the company anticipates an approval within a reasonable period of time. The product will not be launched until the Ribapharm litigation is satisfactorily resolved and FDA approval obtained.
We are very pleased with the terms of the settlement. It places Three Rivers one step closer to providing an affordable version of ribavirin to persons afflicted with hepatitis C. said Donald Kerrish, President of Three Rivers.
Rebetol is indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C and had branded sales of approximately $800 million in the past year.
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC, is a privately-owned generic drug manufacturing company located in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh.
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC is represented by McDermott, Will, & Emery. Founded in 1934, McDermott, Will & Emery is an international law firm with more than 925 laywers who practice in the firm’s offices in Boston, Chicago, Dusseldorf, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, New York, Orange County, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. www.mwe.com
Rebetol is the Registered Trademark of Schering Corporation.
Contact:
Donald Kerrish
President
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC
(724) 778-6100