Wellcome: Gloves Off In Antiviral Battle

Burroughs Wellcome, the US subsidiary of UK firm Wellcome, has filed a patent infringement against SmithKline Beecham alleging that SB's newly-marketed antiviral Famvir (famciclovir) infringes two of BW's US patents. The suit has been filed in the district court of the eastern district of North Carolina.

BW says it is seeking an injunction against the sale of Famvir in the USA and has also put forward a claim for damages. According to Wellcome, the suit alleges that Famvir is virtually identical to the group of molecules, which includes Zovirax (aciclovir), covered by the BW patent. Furthermore, a second claim involves SB's infringement of a patent covering a method for delivering an antiviral drug by providing the patient with a more bioavailable prodrug.

From the market's first response, which saw Wellcome's shares rise and SB's fall on the day of the announcement, it appears that the move is seen as a positive for Wellcome. However, some analysts have raised eyebrows at the timing of the action, just a few weeks after Famvir was launched in the USA. Wellcome responded by saying that the patents had not been infringed until Famvir was sold commercially. Patent cases in the pharmaceutical industry are becoming increasingly common, because gaining even a short period of legal protection for a product can translate into millions of dollars in increased earnings, and perhaps also because of a trend towards a narrower focus in the major pharmaceutical companies' R&D programs.