Content about Company Legal Issues

NEW YORK — Generic drug maker Mylan is suing the Food and Drug Administration in an effort to prevent Gurgaon, India-based competitor Ranbaxy Labs from launching its generic version of Pfizer’s cholesterol medication Lipitor, according to published reports.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals is seeking regulatory approval for a generic drug for high cholesterol.

Watson, through subsidiary Watson Labs, said it applied for approval of a generic version of Daiichi Sankyo’s and Genzyme’s Welchol (colesevelam hydrochloride). The drug, a powdered oral suspension, is used to reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol in patients with primary hyperlipidemia, either alone or in combination with a statin.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has pulled the plug on its plan to hire former Walmart exec Hank Mullany, and is handing the keys to its retail business on an interim basis to Mike Bloom, EVP merchandising and supply chain, and Scott Baker, EVP internal operations and real estate, who will assume management for the company’s 7,100-plus stores.

Bloom and Baker, who will report to Larry Merlo, president and COO of CVS Caremark, are assuming these duties on an interim basis, pending the completion of the company's search for a new president of CVS/pharmacy.

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware judge granted Walmart's request for a preliminary injunction on Wednesday and has blocked — for now — CVS Caremark from hiring former Walmart executive Hank Mullany as president of CVS/pharmacy, according to published reports.

Vice chancellor J. Travis Laster scheduled a trial for early March.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Drug makers Momenta Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz have filed a lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging infringement of two patents related to a generic blood-thinning drug.

HAYWARD, Calif. — Generic drug maker Impax Labs is challenging the patent covering a drug used to treat high cholesterol, the company said Friday.

Impax said it had filed an approval application with the Food and Drug Administration for niacin and simvastatin extended-release tablets in the 1,000 mg/20 mg strength. The drug is a generic version of Abbott Labs’ Simcor.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. Watson Pharmaceuticals has settled a patent lawsuit with Endo Pharmaceuticals concerning an Endo prescription painkiller, Watson said Thursday.

The generic drug maker said its subsidiary, Watson Labs, had received a royalty-free license to Endo’s patents covering the extended-release painkiller Opana ER (oxymorphone).

Watson will have the right to launch its version of the drug in September 2012. Other details of the settlement were not disclosed, Watson said.

RALEIGH, N.C. Salix Pharmaceuticals announced its agreement with Novel Labs to settle its patent litigation over Novel’s proposed generic version of MoviPrep.

INDIANAPOLIS The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled against drug maker Eli Lilly in its patent infringement case against generic drug maker Actavis regarding a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Lilly said.

The court ruled that a method-of-use patent covering the drug, Strattera (atomoxetine), was invalid. The patent was set to expire in May 2017.