The drug company Bayer, which is based in Germany, have launched a lawsuit against rival pharmaceutical company Teva for infringing its patent over the erectile dysfunction drug Levitra.
Teva, an Israeli company, manufactures generic versions of popular branded medications whose patents have run out. Bayer’s patent for Levitra is set to run out in 2018, which led Teva to apply to the Federal Food and Drugs Administration for approval to market a generic form of the drug prior to the expiration of the patent. Bayer are seeking to prevent this going though until the patent has actually expired.
A spokesman for Bayer had no comment as to how long they expected court proceedings to take. However some experts have estimated that the suit should take 30 months to be completed. Until that 30 months is over, the FDA automatically can not grant Teva approval. Analysts have said that considering that GlaxoSmithKline, who sell the medication in the US, only make annual sales from Levitra of $60 million, the issue is not likely to be a priority for them.
Globally, sales of the medication generate EUR 341 million for Bayer. However, Levitra is generally seen as the little sister of the better known erectile dysfunction medications Viagra and Cialis.
Patent expiry is becoming an increasing worry for the makers of the three main erectile dysfunction medications, Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Though all three manufacturers have many other medications that they sell, generic versions are expected to be considerably cheaper and therefore will create far more competition in the erectile dysfunction medication market than currentyly exists. Pfizer’s patent over Viagra runs out in 5 years, while the patent for Cialis will run out two years later.