Merck & Co and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals have reached an agreement to settle their patent litigation involving the former's patent covering ZETIA (ezetimibe), which is used to treat high cholesterol, the companies said in a filing to the stock exchanges today. Specifically, Glenmark challenged Merck's basic compound patent, RE 37,721 (the "721 patent") on numerous grounds.
Under the agreement, Glenmark will be able to launch its product on December 12, 2016 or earlier under certain circumstances, ahead of the April 25, 2017 expiration of Merck's patent exclusivity for ZETIA.
This settlement effectively ends the lawsuit involving a challenge by Glenmark, which sought to launch a generic version of ZETIA before the April 2017 expiration of the patent exclusivity covering ZETIA.
