Pharmacia Corporation has received a favorable ruling in a lawsuit initiated by the University of Rochester alleging infringement of the university's COX-2 patent by the sale and use of Pharmacia's Celebrex (celecoxib capsules). This ruling represents an early pre-trial dismissal of the lawsuit without the need to proceed to a jury trial.
The legal action was initiated in April 2000 in U.S. District Court for in Western New York asserting patent infringement against Pharmacia and certain of its subsidiaries as well as Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia's co-promotion partner for Celebrex. The decision means that the university's patent is invalid and, in Pharmacia's judgment, is unlikely to be reversed on any appeal which the university may elect to file.
"We are very pleased with the court's decision in this case," said Richard Collier, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Pharmacia Corporation. "The ruling confirms what we have said all along that the University of Rochester's patent was invalid on its face. It also confirms our position that the university had no role in the discovery or development of Celebrex which has become the world's top selling branded prescription therapy for arthritis and pain since its introduction in 1999."