Unigene Laboratories, Inc. has reported that the US District Court, Southern District of New York, has confirmed the validity of Unigene's patent on Fortical and issued an order permanently enjoining Apotex Inc. and Apotex Corp. from further infringement of the patent. The motion of the plaintiffs, Unigene and its licensee Upsher-Smith Laboratories, for summary judgment in the case was granted while the request for summary judgment by Apotex was denied.

"This decision is a very significant development for the plaintiffs," commented Dr. Warren P. Levy, president and CEO of Unigene. "Although this decision may not close all of the legal proceedings, we are encouraged by the court's decision in our favour."

Unigene Laboratories, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the oral and nasal delivery of large-market peptide drugs. Due to the size of the worldwide osteoporosis market, Unigene is targeting its initial efforts on developing calcitonin and PTH-based therapies. Fortical, Unigene's nasal calcitonin product for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, received FDA approval and was launched in 2005.