Erectile Dysfunction Drug Patent Dispute Moved to Texas (1)

Mitsubishi Tanabe Phanna Corp.'s patent infringement lawsuit over its erectile dysfunction drug Avanafil belongs in Texas, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled.

Metuchen Pharmaceuticals, a co-plaintiff that licenses the compound from the Japan-based Mitsubishi Tanabe and sells it as Stendra, wanted the litigation in its home state of New Jersey. But the court said Nov. 1 that defendant Empower Pharmaceuticals LLC has weak New Jersey ties, while most of the evidence is in the Southern District of Texas.

The ruling highlights the balancing act courts perform to determine where cases should be heard after the ...