REPOST: Teva, Sun Pharma to pay $2.15 bln to settle Pfizer patent suit

Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd settles a lawsuit against Pfizer and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, says this article.
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Pfizer Inc said Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd would pay $2.15 billion to settle a patent infringement lawsuit related to its acid-reflux drug Protonix.

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Pfizer's partner on the drug, will receive 36 percent or about $774 million from the settlement.

Pfizer won a protracted 10-year legal battle in April 2010 when a New Jersey jury ruled that Teva had infringed the Protonix patent. Teva started selling a generic version of the drug in 2007.

A trial to determine damages began on Monday.

The patent was held by Nycomed - now a Takeda subsidiary. Protonix was licensed to Wyeth, which is now owned by Pfizer.

Israel-based Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, will pay $1.6 billion - half this year and the rest by October 2014. India's Sun Pharma will pay $550 million this year.

Teva said in February that it may face legal losses of up to $2.07 billion to resolve the case.

Sun Pharma set aside 5.84 billion rupees, or about $100 million, last November towards potential damages to Pfizer. The company will now have to shell out a further $450 million as final settlement.

"This is not a very positive out-of-court settlement. The agreed amount is way too high for such a settlement," said Daljeet Kohli, head of research at brokerage IndiaNivesh in Mumbai. "It will also restrict Sun's ability to look for acquisitions."

Pfizer's shares were up about 1 percent at $28.66 before the bell, while Teva's U.S.-listed shares were down about 1 percent at $39.51.

Sun Pharma closed little changed at 980.70 rupees, while Takeda's stock closed down 1.4 percent at 4,355 yen.

($1 = 58.4950 Indian rupees)

Evan Granowitz is a civil litigator who was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Visit this website for more information about him and his practice areas.

Reliving the moot court experience

Image Source: MotionsOnline.org

One might often wonder how great lawyers such as the likes of Evan Granowitz and Michael Schwimer got to be so good in defending their cases in front of a judge and a jury. Surely, their expertise must have come from years of experience in the courts, each trial providing a set of legal skills that accrue over time.

True enough, these skills go all the way back to their law school education where budding lawyers are given a taste of what it is like to be in a real court via a moot court.

The “moot court” is a law school-organized extracurricular activity that immerses law students into the court atmosphere by having them simulate court proceedings. During the entire process, students are required to employ their theoretical foundations in the practice of drafting briefs or memorials and participating in oral arguments. Incidentally, these skills are going to be useful in the students’ future practice, as they would later prove to be invaluable in any court proceedings that they would have to attend.

Image Source: Bond.Edu.com

Moot courts are often mistaken for mock trials; however, they differ in that while the latter simulates jury or bench trials, moot courts are more focused on appellate and arbitral cases. As such, no witnesses or pieces of evidence are presented in a moot court. On the contrary, proceedings are exclusively focused on a particular law’s applicability to a set of evidentiary assumptions which will be introduced to the participants.

Image Source: WebLaw.USC.edu

It goes without saying, but law students who would like to take their practice to the courts should try to engage themselves in the moot courts first.

Evan Granowitz is a California-based lawyer who specializes in civil litigation. This website provides more information about his practice.