...While Court Heads Off Casodex Patent Dispute

The US District Court in Delaware has granted summary judgement in Zeneca's favor on litigation brought by Schering Corp in connection with Zeneca's recently-introduced drug Casodex (bicalutamide) for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Schering claimed that Zeneca's introduction of Casodex was contravening a patent covering the Food and Drug Administration-approved use of Casodex in combination with a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist. Zeneca moved for a summary judgement on a preliminary issue concerning the validity of a patent license granted to Zeneca by Roussel Uclaf, which authorizes the firm to use the combination of Casodex and LHRH agonists in therapy. RU is the joint owner of the disputed patent with Schering. Schering has appealed the decision.

Zeneca notes Casodex has now been approved in the USA, the UK, France, Denmark, Canada, Holland, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland and Spain. The dispute does not apply outside the USA.