ALLEGAN, Mich., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Perrigo Company
(Nasdaq: PRGO; TASE) announced today that all Hatch-Waxman litigation relating
to Desloratadine tablets (5 mg) has been settled with Perrigo taking a license
under all relevant patents. Perrigo had been sued for patent infringement of
US Patent Nos. 6100274, 7214683 and 7214684 based upon its filing of an ANDA
containing a Paragraph IV certification. Under the terms of the settlement,
Perrigo can commercially launch its generic Desloratadine product on July 1,
2012, or earlier in certain circumstances. The new product launch may be a
prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) product depending on its status at the
time of launch. The Perrigo product is awaiting FDA approval.
This product seeks an AB-rating as equivalent to Schering-Plough's
Clarinex(R) tablets (5 mg) indicated for the treatment of seasonal allergic
rhinitis, perennial allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. Sales
for the brand were approximately $300 million, according to Wolters Kluwer
data for the twelve months ending October 2008.
Perrigo's Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa stated, "This is another example
of Perrigo's continued commitment to bring new products to the market.
Perrigo continues to be focused on our mission of making quality healthcare
more affordable for consumers."
Perrigo Company is a leading global healthcare supplier that develops,
manufactures and distributes over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription
pharmaceuticals, nutritional products, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)
and consumer products. The Company is the world's largest manufacturer of OTC
pharmaceutical products for the store brand market. The Company's primary
markets and locations of manufacturing facilities are the United States,
Israel, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Visit Perrigo on the Internet
(http://www.perrigo.com).
Note: Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. These
statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial
performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases,
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may,"
"will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend,"
"believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or other comparable terminology.
The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company
believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are
reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the
Company's control. These and other important factors, including those
discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended
June 28, 2008, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results, performance or achievements
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made
only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable
securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
Arthur J. Shannon, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communication
