Preliminary injunction issued by a French court against Teva’s generic of Novartis’ Exforge anti-hypertensive drug (valsartan/amlodipine) plus €13,000,000 awarded as an advance on damages
On 7 June 2018, the tribunal de grande instance of Paris (Judge Marie Courboulay) issued a preliminary injunction against Teva’s generic of Novartis’ anti-hypertensive drug Exforge (valsartan/amlodipine) on the basis of Novartis’ EP 2 322 174.
The court order mentions that the oppositions against this patent were rejected by the opposition division of the EPO in December 2017; it also mentions that in parallel proceedings, an injunction was issued by the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf on 14 December 2017, but was refused in Spain and Switzerland.
The 42-page judgment reviews in detail and rejects all the invalidity arguments raised by Teva (double patenting, insufficiency, extension, obviousness).
As Teva’s generic has been put on the market in October 2017, the court orders Teva to pay Novartis more than €13,000,000 as an advance on damages (€5,846,628 to Novartis Pharma AG, the Swiss company who owns the patent, and €7,308,285 to Novartis Pharma SAS, the French licensee).
This is probably the highest amount ever granted by a French court as an advance payment on damages in a patent infringement case.
A copy of the decision (in French) can be read here.
Pierre Véron, Honorary President EPLAW