Takeda sues Teva over insomnia medicine

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Asia's biggest drugmaker, sued Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., alleging infringement of a U.S. patent for the insomnia treatment Rozerem.

Takeda, based in Osaka, Japan, and its Deerfield-based unit asked for unspecified damages and a court injunction against infringing sales by Teva in a complaint filed today in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Teva infringed the patent by seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell copies of the sleeping pills, Takeda's lawyers said in the complaint. Takeda said it is the exclusive licensee of the patent, which expires in 2017.

Teva, based in Petah Tikva, Israel, is the world's largest maker of generic drugs, with more than $11 billion in sales last year. Teva contends the Takeda patent is invalid because the claimed invention is obvious.

Denise Bradley, a Teva spokeswoman in North Wales, Pennsylvania, said the company had no comment on the lawsuit.

Teva's American depositary receipts, each worth one ordinary share, rose 41 cents to $51.90 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 1:04 p.m. in New York. Takeda fell 20 yen to 3,590 yen ($39.97) in Tokyo today.

The case is Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., 09CV841, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).