Court affirms decision that Watson Pharmaceuticals' generic versions of Mucinex products do not infringe on any patents

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals last week confirmed that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida's February 2011 decision that Watson's generic versions of Mucinex, Mucinex D and Mucinex DM extended-release products do not infringe Reckitt Benckiser’s U.S. Patent No. 6,372,252. 

Watson stated it is continuing to seek final approval of the products from the Food and Drug Administration. 

In 2009, Reckitt Benckiser sued Watson for patent infringement related to Watson's filing of three abbreviated new drug applications for generic versions of Reckitt's Mucinex line of products. The Mucinex products had total U.S. sales of approximately $500 million for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2010, Watson noted, citing SymphonyIRI Group data.