Pfizer Wins Sutent Patent Case; No Generics of Cancer Drug Until 2021

Pfizer Inc. will be able to stave off generic competition for its kidney cancer drug, Sutent (sunitinib malate capsules), after a federal court in Delaware ruled that Pfizer’s patents on the drug weren’t invalid for obviousness (Pfizer, Inc. v. Mylan Pharm., Inc., D. Del., 1:10-cv-00528-GMS, 10/22/14).

The ruling, if it stands, is a loss for Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which had hoped to market a generic version of the drug. Patent protection for the Pfizer product runs until 2021.

The ruling, by Judge Gregory M. Sleet, was issued after a four-day bench trial that took place in November 2012.

Douglas ...