U.S. federal appeals court reinstates GSK’s £182 million ruling

The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said on Friday that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TLV: TEVA) will compensate GlaxoSmithKline plc (LON: GSK) with a payment of £182.09 million – a verdict that was originally given by a jury in 2017.

At £704.50 per share, Teva Pharmaceutical is now roughly 8% down year to date in the stock market. In March, shares of the company had tanked to as low as £571 per share due to COVID-19 disruptions. Teva currently has a market cap of £7.75 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 3,516.

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Teva sold a generic alternative of GSK’s patented heart drug

Teva Pharmaceutical faces the penalty for selling a generic alternative of GSK’s patented heart drug Coreg. GSK had a list of medical conditions covered under its patent. But the 2-1 decision on Friday said there was substantial evidence that Teva Pharmaceutical was involved in patent infringement as it prompted doctors to recommend its generic alternative instead.

In a statement on Friday, GSK said it was satisfied with the ruling. Teva, on the other hand, demonstrated disappointment as it expressed plans of appealing against the decision. The Israel-based company reaffirmed its stance that it did not engage in patent infringement.  The U.S. unit of Teva was indicted on price-fixing charges earlier this year in August.

GSK’s Coreg currently has a license from the U.S. FDA to be marketed for heart conditions like hypertension, congestive heart failure, and left ventricular dysfunction following a myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Teva Pharmaceutical had started marketing a generic alternative for Coreg in 2007. GlaxoSmithKline sued Teva in 2014 that resulted in a Delaware jury penalizing Teva Pharmaceutical with £181 million that it was to pay GSK in lost profit and additional royalties that were valued at £1.08 million.

In 2019, Judge Leonard Stark of the U.S. District Court had overturned the jury’s decision, commenting doctors might have recommended Teva’s generic tablets due to a range of other factors.

GSK invested £130 million to get a 10% stake in CureVac

In an earlier announcement in July, GSK said it will invest £130 million to get a 10% stake in CureVac.

GSK closed less than 1% up on Friday. On a year to date basis, shares of the company are still about 20% down in the stock market. At the time of writing, GlaxoSmithKline is valued at £144.50 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 10.87.