Glaxo and Spectrum settle drug patent suit

GlaxoSmithKline settled a patent lawsuit against Irvine-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. just before trial, allowing sales of a generic version of Imitrex Injection headache medicine to start as early as August 2008.

Spectrum won approval from the Food and Drug Administration last month to sell a generic form of the drug. Under a separate agreement with Par Pharmaceutical Cos., Spectrum will get most of the profit from sales of sumatriptan succinate, the generic name for Imitrex Injection.

“We expect to use those profits to fund the further development of our proprietary drug pipeline,” Spectrum Chief Executive Rajesh C. Shrotriya said Monday. Par, based in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., agreed in February to help distribute the drug.

Imitrex Injection, used to treat migraine attacks and acute cluster headaches, generates U.S. sales of about $220 million a year, Spectrum said, citing figures from IMS Health.

London-based Glaxo, the world’s second-largest drug maker, behind Pfizer Inc., also sells Imitrex as a nasal spray and in tablets.

Glaxo sued in federal court in Wilmington, Del., in 2005, alleging that Spectrum would infringe a patent on injectable Imitrex compounds. Spectrum claimed that the patent was invalid and unenforceable. A nonjury trial was to begin Monday before U.S. District Judge Gregory Sleet.

“It was resolved on mutually agreeable terms,” said Evan Chesler, a lawyer for Glaxo at New York-based Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Some of the generic drug will be made by Glaxo and sold by Spectrum, Glaxo spokeswoman Gaile Renegar said. Spectrum and Par will make the rest.

The agreement, which must be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, gives Spectrum “clarity regarding our exclusive launch,” Shrotriya said.

U.S.-traded shares of Glaxo fell 17 cents to $51.79. Spectrum shares rose 11 cents to $5.57. Par rose 7 cents to $18.37.