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NEW YORK — Pfizer Inc. has been granted a reissue patent from United States Patent & Trademark Office for methods of treating osteoarthritis and other approved conditions with celecoxib, the active ingredient in Celebrex.
The reissue patent is slated to expire on Dec. 2, 2015, and includes six months of pediatric exclusivity, Pfizer said Tuesday. The company added that the basic patent for celecoxib expires on May 30, 2014, and includes six months of pediatric exclusivity as well.
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), Celebrex is indicated for the treatment of pain or inflammation caused by arthritis and other conditions.
"We are pleased with the reissuance of this patent protecting the invention of using celecoxib to treat osteoarthritis and other approved conditions and have initiated legal proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights through Dec. 2, 2015," stated Amy Schulman, executive vice president and general counsel for Pfizer.
Pfizer said that on Tuesday it filed suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Watson Laboratories Inc., Lupin Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Apotex Corp. and Apotex Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for infringement of the reissue patent.
According to Pfizer, each of those pharmaceutical companies previously filed an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) with the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a generic form of celecoxib in the United States starting in May 2014, before the Dec. 2, 2015, expiration of the reissue patent.
