Pfizer loses key Lyrica patent battle in the UK; Kleo Pharma closes $21M Series B round
→ The UK Supreme Court ruled against Pfizer $PFE and a patent involving its blockbuster painkiller Lyrica, in a major blow to the US drugmaker on Wednesday. Originally developed for epilepsy, the drug was eventually cleared for use in neuropathic pain that later became its key market, making it one of Pfizer’s most successful drugs in the UK. Pfizer was hoping to prolong a secondary medical use patent for neuropathic pain for the product, as the basic patent on Lyrica that expired five years ago allowed generic drugmakers to launch cheaper versions of the medicine carrying a “skinny label” limiting their use to epilepsy and general anxiety disorder, Reuters reported, These generics would inevitably be used as painkillers, Pfizer claimed in a lawsuit, but after the appeal was rejected in 2016, the case reached the SC. Pfizer’s secondary neuropathic pain patent expired last year, the report added. The SC’s decision constitutes a win for generic drugmakers Allergan $AGN and Mylan $MYL.
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