European Patent Office maintains Pozen's PA/Vimovo patent

US drug firm Pozen (Nasdaq: POZN) says that the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office has maintained the granted European patent, EP1411900, titled Pharmaceutical Compositions for the Coordinated Delivery of NSAIDs, which covers Vimovo (naproxen/esomeprazole magnesium) and its PA product candidates. The patent claims maintained in the opposition proceedings relate to combinations of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).

The opponent to the patent (which has not been named by Pozen) has the option of appealing the decision of the Opposition Division until May 5, 2013, which is two months from the date of the Opposition Division’s written decision. Pozen says it expects the appeals process, if initiated, to take two years until a final decision of the Board of Appeals is rendered.

A couple of years ago, Pozen and partner Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) filed a law suit against India headquartered Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, for infringement of US Patent No. 6,926,907 relating to Vimovo delayed-release tablets (The Pharma Letter April 27, 2011).