Eisai Co., Ltd. and its US subsidiary Eisai Inc. announced that the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Eisai's favour with respect to Eisai's motion for a preliminary injunction in its patent infringement lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals and its division Gate Pharmaceuticals concerning Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride tablets).

As previously announced, Eisai filed the infringement actions in December 2005 contesting Teva's submission of an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) to the FDA for Aricept.

"We are pleased with the court's preliminary injunction decision to prevent the sale of Teva's generic product before the expiration of the donepezil composition of matter patent," said Hajime Shimizu, chairman & CEO of Eisai Corporation of North America and Eisai Inc. "We will continue to actively protect our intellectual property throughout the world."

Aricept, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor developed by Eisai Co., Ltd. in Japan, increases the concentration of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. Aricept was launched in the United States in 1997 and is indicated for the treatment of mild, moderate, and severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type. In the United States, Eisai Inc. copromotes Aricept with Pfizer Inc.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Eisai's corporate human health care (hhc) mission is to give first thought to patients and their families, and to increase the benefits that health care provides.