Watson confirms patent challenge for generic Azilect

MORRISTOWN, N.J. Generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals is seeking approval for a generic treatment for Parkinson’s disease, prompting a lawsuit from the drug’s manufacturer.

Watson said Tuesday that Watson Labs, a subsidiary of the company, had filed for approval for rasagiline mesylate tablets, a treatment for Parkinson’s used either alone or with the drug levodopa. The drug is a generic version of Teva Neuroscience’s Azilect.

Teva filed a lawsuit against Watson Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to try and prevent Watson from marketing its version of the drug before the expiration of a patent covering it that expires in February 2017. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, the lawsuit results in a stay of final FDA approval of Watson’s version of the drug until November 2013 or until the two companies resolve the matter before the court.