WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Barr
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: BRL) today announced that the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (PTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for the reissuance
of U.S. Patent 5,895,032 ('032), relating to Barr's SEASONALE(R)
extended-cycle oral contraceptive. The issuance of the Notice of Allowance
confirms that Barr's reissue patent application has satisfied statutory
requirements of patentability and indicates that the PTO will issue the
reissue patent in the future.
"The PTO Notice of Allowance is the first step in a two step process.
The next step will be formal reissuance of the SEASONALE patent which we
can then list in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Orange Book
with a patent term expiration of 2017," said Bruce L. Downey, Barr's
Chairman and CEO. "The reissued patent confirms our position that we have
the exclusive right to market SEASONALE."
Barr filed its application seeking reissuance of the '032 patent with
the PTO in July 2004. Since this date, the application has been rejected
three times, and each time the Company responded with arguments to counter
the rejections. The PTO issued the notice of allowance after receiving the
Company's third response and a supplement to this response. The PTO has not
provided a timeframe for reissuance. When the patent is formally reissued,
the reissued patent will replace the '032 patent in FDA's Orange Book and
will have the same remaining term as the '032 patent, which expires in
2017.
In June 2004 Barr announced that it had been notified that Watson
Laboratories had filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA)
containing a paragraph IV certification asserting that the patent covering
SEASONALE was invalid, unenforceable or would not be infringed by Watson's
generic product. Barr did not initiate patent infringement litigation with
respect to Watson's ANDA. In September 2006, Watson launched a generic
version of SEASONALE following final approval from the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration (FDA).
About Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical company
that operates in more than 30 countries worldwide and is engaged in the
development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary
pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
A holding company, Barr operates through its principal subsidiaries: Barr
Laboratories, Inc., Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and PLIVA d.d. and its
subsidiaries. The Barr Group of companies markets more than 245 generic and
25 proprietary products in the U.S. and more than 1,200 products globally
outside of the U.S.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements
made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be
identified by their use of words such as "expects," "plans," "projects,"
"will," "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates"
and other words of similar meaning. Because such statements inherently
involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified,
actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements depending upon a number of factors
affecting the Company's business. These factors include, among others: the
difficulty in predicting the timing and outcome of legal proceedings,
including patent-related matters such as patent challenge settlements and
patent infringement cases; the outcome of litigation arising from
challenging the validity or non- infringement of patents covering our
products; the difficulty of predicting the timing of FDA approvals; court
and FDA decisions on exclusivity periods; the ability of competitors to
extend exclusivity periods for their products; our ability to complete
product development activities in the timeframes and for the costs we
expect; market and customer acceptance and demand for our pharmaceutical
products; our dependence on revenues from significant customers;
reimbursement policies of third party payors; our dependence on revenues
from significant products; the use of estimates in the preparation of our
financial statements; the impact of competitive products and pricing on
products, including the launch of authorized generics; the ability to
launch new products in the timeframes we expect; the availability of raw
materials; the availability of any product we purchase and sell as a
distributor; the regulatory environment in the markets where we operate;
our exposure to product liability and other lawsuits and contingencies; the
increasing cost of insurance and the availability of product liability
insurance coverage; our timely and successful completion of strategic
initiatives, including integrating companies (such as PLIVA d.d.) and
products we acquire and implementing our new SAP enterprise resource
planning system; fluctuations in operating results, including the effects
on such results from spending for research and development, sales and
marketing activities and patent challenge activities; the inherent
uncertainty associated with financial projections; our expansion into
international markets through our PLIVA acquisition, and the resulting
currency, governmental, regulatory and other risks involved with
international operations; our ability to service our significantly
increased debt obligations as a result of the PLIVA acquisition; changes in
generally accepted accounting principles; and other risks detailed in our
SEC filings, including in our Transition Report on Form 10-K/T for the six
months ended December 31, 2006.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date the statement was made. The Company undertakes no
obligation (nor does it intend) to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable law.
SOURCE Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.barrlabs.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/089750.html /
CONTACT:
Carol A. Cox of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
+1-201-930-3720, ccox@barrlabs.com
|
