The US Patent Trial and Appeal Board has upheld the validity of three Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) patents on migraine treatment Ajovy, which had been contested by Eli Lilly. In response, Teva's share price rose 5.52% on the NYSE yesterday to $8.98, giving a market cap of $9.491 billion.
Ajovy is a Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antibody which competes with two similar drugs in the migraine market, which were launched in 2018 by Amgen and Eli Lilly. Ajovy, which was launched in the final quarter of 2018 in the US has captured a 20% market share of this sector. In its legal action, Eli Lilly claimed that Teva's patents were not valid because the antibody had already been clinically proven as a treatment for migraine long before Teva filed its patent request. Teva argued that the earlier work had focused more on research of tools to improve scientific understanding on not to develop an antibody.
Two months ago, Teva announced that it had received FDA approval for an auto-injectable version of Ajovy. The Israeli pharmaceutical company hopes that this will help close the gap with its rivals in the US and increase market share of the migraine treatment. The company also reported positive clinical results for Ajovy in Japan, which brings marketing approval closer in that country.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 1, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020