Score one for big pharma as Viagra patent ruled valid

Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, a generic drug manufacturer, will have to wait until 2019 to legally produce their generic Viagra according to a 110-page opinion by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith in Norfolk, VA.  The judge stated Teva did not meet the “clear and convincing evidence” standard in attempting to prove the Pfizer patent was invalid.

The ruling protects Pfizer’s nearly $2B in annual Viagra sales (6 cents in annual per-share earnings, according to JP Morgan Chase) not only from Teva’s immediate competition but probably from that of other generic manufacturers who were awaiting the verdict, according to Bloomberg analyst Asthika Goonewardene.