Teva Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Ajovy, and Eli Lilly, the developer of Emgality, are embroiled in a patent battle over CGRP.
On Tuesday, Teva sued Eli Lilly in federal court of Massachusetts, and it was the same day the company acquired two additional patents of Ajovy by USPTO (the United States Patent and Trademark Office).
According to the Israeli firm, the migraine preventive medication of Eli Lilly, Emgality, is undermining the newly awarded patents of Ajovy. The business is going to sue Eli Lilly to prevent it from developing and distributing its CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide) inhibitor in the United States, as well as claiming penalties.
This lawsuit arises as a result of a battle between two firms over the 9 additional Ajovy patents of Teva pharmaceuticals.
In 2018, Eli Lilly and Teva joined Amgen pharmaceuticals in pursuing the CGRP migraine prophylaxis market. Teva filed a lawsuit against Lilly for the violation of its nine Ajovy patents, after the approval of Emgality. According to Teva, the trial of the lawsuit is scheduled on February 2022.
Meanwhile, Lilly filed a patent claim against Teva with USPTO, which resulted in muddled conclusions. Six patents were canceled by the authority in 2020, while the remaining three were retained. Both firms are now going to appeal the verdict.
Following CEO Kåre Schultz’s massive business overhaul, Teva has identified Ajovy as a source of substantial growth of the company. The company is hoping that its novel medication can save it from slumping generics market and loss of uniqueness of Copaxone, its once groundbreaking medication for multiple sclerosis, in the United States.
However, Ajovy has been the least effective of the three CGRP inhibitors in the first phase. According to a data report released by RBC Capital Market, Amivog, manufactured by Amgen and Novartis, is winning the market with more than 40% ownership of both new and total prescriptions.
Ajovy generated $47 million in sales in the first half of the year, as compared to $120 million earned by Emgality, and $66 million earned by Amivog. Teva is expecting a $300 million per year sale of Ajovy.
Schultz stated on a recent call that the company’s goal is to acquire third of the CGRP market in the coming years.
In 2021, the market will witness even more rivalry after the introduction of the three CGRP inhibitors. Nurtec ODT, a prophylactic therapy developed by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals just received a label expansion. The medication has previously been licensed for the treatment of acute migraine.
