Teva offices
צילום: סבאסטיאן שיינר
Pfizer sues Teva for infringing Zyvox patent
New York-based company asks court for injunction to prevent Israeli pharmaceutical company for making or selling a generic version of its antibiotic
Pfizer Inc. asked a US federal court to block Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd from selling a generic form of its Zyvox antibiotic that it said would infringe a patent, according to court documents.
New York-based Pfizer asked the court for an injunction to prevent Israel's Teva from making or selling a generic version of Zyvox, according to the complaint filed last week in US District Court in Delaware.
Zyvox, which is used to treat pneumonia and skin infections, has annual global sales of about $1.1 billion. The Teva generic would threaten Zyvox's US sales, which totaled about $575 million.
Teva filed an abbreviated new drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration, seeking approval to sell a generic version of Zyvox. Pfizer said the move infringed its patent.
Pfizer said in the complaint that its Zyvox patent would not expire until at least 2014.
Teva declined to comment.
