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N E W S & A N A LY S I S
A. Astes/Alamy
PATENT WATCH
18 months sliced off Celebrexs patent protection
A US district court has invalidated a patent (US RE 44048) that describes methods of using Celebrex (celecoxib) to treat inflammatory disorders. This means that patent protection for the cyclooxygenase2 (COX2) inhibitor will now finish at the end of May 2014, potentially allowing generics manufacturers to muscle in 18months earlier than originally anticipated. Given that Celebrex had worldwide revenues of US$2.92billion in 2013, this is a big loss for Pfizer.
Prior to this case, Pfizer owned three key patents that protect Celebrex, two of which expire at the end of May 2014, and the 048 patent, which was due to expire early in December 2015. A dispute between Pfizer and several generics...