FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied Novartis’ emergency motion for an injunction, permitting Teva Pharmaceutical to resume sales of generic Famvir, a treatment for herpes, Teva announced.

The court had issued an order temporarily enjoining Teva from selling generic Famvir (famciclovir) tablets while it considered Novartis’ emergency motion for a stay pending appeal.

Novartis was appealing a Sept. 5 ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denying the company’s motion for an injunction after Teva received final approval for generic Famvir in August.

Teva initially launched its product Sept. 7, noting that as the first company to file an abbreviated new drug application containing a Paragraph IV certification for the drug, it received 180 days of marketing exclusivity.

Novartis said it would continue to vigorously defend its intellectual property rights for Famvir. The company’s patent protection for the drug doesn’t expire until 2015.