US court of appeals upholds ruling in favour of Hikma over Vascepa

US courts ruled against an appeal by Amarin related to Hikma Pharmaceuticals's generic treatment for heart conditions, Vascepa.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an earlier judgement by the US District Court of Nevada which found that Hikma's generic version of the Vascepa did not infringe on any of Amarin's six key patents.

Hikma had received approval from US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, in May 2020 and preparations for the launch of Vascepa were already under way.

According to IQVIA data cited by Hikma, US sales of the drug to treat heart conditions had reached $1.1bn over the 12 months ending in July.

Brian Hoffmann, President of Hikma Generics, said: "Today's decision demonstrates Hikma's ability to successfully challenge patents on important medicines and to provide value to our customers and millions of patients across the United States."

Following a brief intraday spike near the end of the trading session, shares of Hikma Pharmaceuticals dipped 0.29% to 2,412.0p.