Roche Settles Dispute With ICN, Ribapharm

Roche Holding settled a dispute with ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Ribapharm Inc. over patents for the hepatitis C drug ribavirin, which the Swiss drug maker uses with one of its products.

The companies will stop all legal action over ribavirin, and Roche will license the drug from Ribapharm, the Swiss drug maker said.

Roche will continue to register and market its own version of ribavirin, called Copegus, worldwide. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Ribapharm, which is controlled by ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., filed a lawsuit in August accusing a U.S. unit of Roche of infringing Ribapharm’s patent for ribavirin, its only product.