Novo Nordisk to appeal against Prandin ruling
US court says patent is unenforceable
Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk intends to appeal against an adverse US court ruling in the Prandin (repaglinide) patent case and is evaluating its best options for doing so.
Judge Avern Cohn of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that the patent, which covers the combination use of repaglinide and metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is invalid and unenforceable.
‘We are disappointed with today’s ruling. We believe that it is contrary to the evidence and we intend to appeal the ruling,’ said Jesper Brandgaard, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk markets repaglinide under the trade name Prandin and a fixed dose repaglinide/metformin tablet under the trade name PrandiMet.
The district court ruling could lead to the launch of a generic version of repaglinide. At present, it is unclear whether or when a generic version of Prandin or PrandiMet will be available in the US.
For the first nine months of 2010, Novo Nordisk’s US sales of Prandin and PrandiMet totalled US$134m.