Teva files suit against Sandoz, Momenta over patent infringement

JERUSALEM Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has motioned to amend a complaint against two generic drug makers over their alleged infringement of Teva’s patent on a multiple sclerosis drug.

The Israeli drug maker announced Tuesday that it had sought to amend a complaint filed against Sandoz and Momenta Pharmaceuticals in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York over their attempts to make a generic version of the injected drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate). The amended complaint has been filed with the court under seal.

Teva, which makes branded drugs in addition to being the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, originally filed the suit in August 2008, alleging infringement of multiple patents covering the drug.

Teva said that Copaxone is a “highly complicated” drug to develop, and given its inability to fully characterize its active ingredients, it has “serious doubts” about another drug company’s ability to make a comparable generic version.