Teva’s Latest Victory in Effort to Protect Key Patents

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA) shares reached a new multiyear high Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear its appeal to revive a patent that would protect its top-selling multiple-sclerosis drug Copaxone from generic rivals until September 2015.

Copaxone brings Teva $3.2 billion in annual U.S. sales, which accounts for more than half the company’s profit. But Teva’s legal protection on the drug is set to expire in May. Drug makers that were planning to offer generic versions, such as Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTA) and Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ: MYL), now could risk having to compensate Teva for lost sales, if Teva’s appeal to the Supreme Court succeeds. Copaxone already faces competition from Biogen Idec Inc.’s (NASDAQ: BIIB) Tecfidera.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last year reversed the decision of a trial judge and upheld four Teva patents set to expire in May. It also invalidated a separate patent aimed at blocking generic competition until September 2015. The Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases, typically reviews patents without regard to the trial judge’s interpretation. Teva’s Supreme Court appeal argues that the court should have deferred to the trial judge’s reading of the patent.

Teva shares were up more than 6% to $52.57 in mid-day trading Monday, after earlier reaching a new high of $52.72. Momenta shares dropped more than 15% and Mylan shares were trading marginally lower.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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