先灵－葆雅3月宣布该公司将丙肝治疗药物利巴韦林（Ribavirin）转让给Teva制药公司和诺华子公司Geneva制药公司。
CHICAGO, March 26 (Reuters) - Schering-Plough Corp. on Wednesday said it will license hepatitis C drug ribavirin to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. and Geneva Pharmaceuticals Inc., settling patent litigation.
Generic drug makers Teva and Geneva, a unit of Novartis AG (NOVZn.VX), are both seeking to make copycat versions of the anti-viral drug, marketed by Schering under the brand name Rebetol as part of a two-drug combination that includes Schering interferon drug PEG-Intron.
Sales of Rebetol totaled $865 million last year.
The agreement does not affect patent litigation between the generic drug makers and Ribapharm Inc. , which developed ribavirin, and its parent ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. .
In a statement, Teva said the Ribapharm litigation prohibits U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of its generic ribavirin product until expiration of a 30-month stay or a court ruling on the patent case -- whichever comes first.
The Ribapharm suit is scheduled for trial on June 2 and summary judgment motions are pending, Teva said.
Under the Schering-Plough deal, the company granted Teva and Geneva nonexclusive rights to ribavirin patents and in return the generics pay Schering-Plough a royalty, which was not specified.
Last month, Schering reached a similar settlement of ribavirin patent litigation with Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals LLC, which is also seeking FDA approval for a generic form of the drug.
Schering has acknowledged that it might face generic competition for the drug in 2003, when its earnings are expected to drop about 30 percent from 2002.
Ribavirin and PEG-Intron are also expected to face competition from similar dual-therapy drugs made by Swiss drug company Roche Holding AG (ROCZg.VX).
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