Glaxo’s Win in Case Against Teva Lifts Other Drugmakers
- Dispute is over generic-labeling when brand drugs get new uses
- Ruling could bolster similar label cases by Amarin, Endo
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GlaxoSmithKline Plc won its bid to reinstate a $235 million patent-infringement verdict against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. in a closely watched dispute over labeling for generic drugs that gave a boost to other brand-name drugmakers in similar fights.
A U.S. appeals court, in a 2-1 ruling, said Teva’s product label for a copycat version of the heart drug Coreg encouraged doctors to prescribe the generic for an unapproved use. The majority called it a “narrow, case-specific review” that won’t affect other cases involving so-called skinny labels, though the third judge said it involved “sometimes labored, sometimes opaque” reasoning that could hurt efforts to bring low-cost medicines to the market.