Elan takes action against US firm

ELAN has taken legal action against a US company over its alleged misuse of a drug patent currently owned by the Irish pharmaceutical firm.

Elan filed its complaint against US company Alcon Laboratories in Texas late last week and is looking for damages, legal fees and an injunction to be placed on Alcon’s use of its technology.

The potential court case surrounds two patents which Alcon obtained from NanoSystems — the drug delivery arm of Eastman Kodak, which Elan acquired in 1998.

Alcon used NanoSystems’s technology in the development of its Azopt eye drug, which is used to treat people suffering from glaucoma. Azopt has been on the market for a number of years.

Elan is claiming that Alcon has committed wilful infringement in using the technology.

It claims Alcon only began using the relevant technology after 1998, when Elan gained control of NanoSystems.

Alcon’s contractual agreements with Nano-Systems, with regard to the technology, only ran over 1995 and 1996.

It is not clear why Elan has waited so long in order to bring the case against Alcon, but royalty payments through the selling of drug technology is a huge revenue stream for firms such as Elan.

The nanocrystal technology — ultimately owned by one of Elan’s subsidiaries Elan Pharma International, is used in more than 70 treatments on the market, according to Elan and is central to combined annual drug sales of around $1.3 billion.

The likes of Wyeth, Merck and Abbott Laboratories are currently using it in drugs to treat a number of diseases and treatments, including high cholesterol and cancer.

Elan’s share price, in Dublin, was down by 7.81%, or 44c, at €5.25, yesterday.