King, Aventis, Cobalt agree to dismiss Altace patent litigation

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Feb. 28 - King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported late Monday that King, Aventis Pharma Deutschland GmbH (now known as Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH) and Cobalt Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have agreed to dismiss the pending litigation relating to the enforcement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,061,722 and 5,403,856.

The parties agreed that, subject to certain conditions, within 38 days of signing the agreement, King, Aventis and Cobalt will submit a joint stipulation dismissing without prejudice the litigation before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, according to a company news release.

Cobalt had sought to market generic versions of Altace (ramipril) before expiration of the '722 patent and '856 patent, which relate to Altace, by filing an abbreviated New Drug Application.

Altace is marketed by Monarch Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of King Pharmaceuticals, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in the United States and Puerto Rico under a co-promotion agreement.

Altace is a leading branded ACE inhibitor with multiple indications that include treatment of hypertension. Altace also has been shown to reduce the risk of death in stable patients who have demonstrated clinical signs of congestive heart failure within the first few days after sustaining acute myocardial infarction.

King, based in Bristol, Tenn., is a vertically integrated branded pharmaceutical company.

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