Momenta, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Watson cardiovascular, generics news
Momenta disclosed in its 3Q12 earning that in September it filed for an en banc rehearing of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). In August, the CAFC vacated a preliminary injunction sought by generic enoxaparin maker Momenta that would have prevented Amphastar from selling its own version of the anticoagulant. In its 2-1 decision, the court said Momenta is unlikely to succeed in showing that its generic enoxaparin is infringed by Amphastar's version and remanded the case back to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Momenta said the CAFC is considering whether to hear the case en banc and that the decision could come "at any time." Momenta reported $2.6 million in sales of generic enoxaparin for 3Q12 (see BioCentury Aug. 6).
In January, the CAFC issued a preliminary ruling to stay the injunction, after which Amphastar and partner Watson launched their generic version of enoxaparin in the U.S. Last October, the lower court granted the injunction after Momenta sued Amphastar for alleged infringement of two of Momenta's patents covering methods for producing enoxaparin (see BioCentury, Oct. 31, 2011 & Jan. 30, 2012). ...