NEW YORK (AP) -- Irish drugmaker Shire PLC said Thursday it settled a lawsuit over the patents on its attention deficit hyperactivity drug Intuniv, and will allow another company to make a generic version in 2016.
Shire has sued TWi Pharmaceuticals and Anchen Pharmaceuticals for infringing on two patents that support Intuniv. TWi and Anchen are dropping their challenge to the two patents and acknowledging that they are valid. Anchen will be able to start marketing its generic starting July 1, 2016. Shire will get royalties on sales of the generic, and it said the payments would be "significant."
Intuniv is a once-per-day ADHD drug that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September 2009. Anchen filed for approval of TWi's generic and has the right to market the product in the U.S.
Shire said the settlement does not affect its litigation with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Actavis Inc.
U.S.-traded shares of Shire rose $2.23, or 2.4 percent, to $94.44 in afternoon trading.
