Orion and Hospira take legal action surrounding Precedex

Orion and Hospira have announced the filing of legal action against companies that they believe have violated the patents of the drug Precedex.

The firms have brought a patent infringement lawsuit to enforce Orion’s patent number 4,910,214 and Orion and Hospira’s commonly-owned patent number 6,716,867 against Sandoz International Gmbh and Sandoz Inc.

Sandoz has submitted an application to market and produce a generic version of Precedex in the US.

It is used for the continuous intravenous sedation of mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units for up to 24 hours and in patients requiring sedation during surgical procedures.

Due to the action, Orion and Hospira are entitled to an automatic stay prohibiting the Food and Drug Administration from approving Sandoz’s application for 30 months.

In other Orion news, the firm reacquired the rights for Simdax in all global regions except Latin America, after gaining the licence for its formulation in 1998 and expanding the agreement in 2004.