LIBERTY CORNER, N.J., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Reliant") announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. ("Par") for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,681,588 (the "'588 Patent"), which expires in 2014 and relates to Reliant's Rythmol(R) SR product. The '588 Patent is listed in the Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (the "Orange Book") for Rythmol(R) SR.
The lawsuit is in response to Par's notification that it has filed a Paragraph IV Certification in connection with its Abbreviated New Drug Application (an "ANDA") to the FDA for a generic version of 325mg Rythmol(R) SR capsules (the "Notice"). According to the Notice, Par is seeking approval to engage in the commercial manufacture, use or sale of its generic version prior to the expiration of the '588 Patent.
Reliant intends to vigorously protect and defend its intellectual property rights against infringement.
About Reliant Pharmaceuticals
Reliant Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company with integrated sales, marketing and development expertise that markets a portfolio of branded cardiovascular pharmaceutical products. Reliant focuses on marketing promotionally sensitive pharmaceutical products to the high prescribing primary care, cardiovascular and specialist physician markets in the United States. Reliant also acquires rights to and develops product candidates in mid- to late-stage clinical development. Reliant's sales force infrastructure is comprised of approximately 825 sales professionals nationwide.
"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. To the extent any statements made in this release contain information that is not historical, these statements are essentially forward looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the difficulty of predicting FDA approvals, acceptance and demand for new pharmaceutical products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development and launch, reliance on key strategic alliances, availability of raw materials, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc.