Corcept Therapeutics shares fell by more than a quarter on Tuesday morning after a court found against it in a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ:TEVA).
A US District Court ruled that Teva does not infringe any asserted claims of Corcept’s US Patents 10,195,214 and 10,842,800, both of which concern methods of safely administering its flagship Korlym drug with drugs that are strong inhibitors of CYP3A4, an enzyme mainly found in the liver and the intestine.
Corcept filed the lawsuit against Teva after it applied for US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its generic version of Korlym.
Corcept CEO Joseph Belanoff said in a statement that the company is confident the decision — which he said was based on legal and factual errors — would be reversed on appeal. The company would also continue to assert its intellectual property rights whenever they are infringed, he added.
“Our patents describe medical discoveries that have greatly expanded the therapeutic options available to patients suffering from Cushing’s syndrome, which is why the FDA added them to Korlym’s prescribing instructions,” said Dr Belanoff.
“Doctors have followed these instructions and will continue to do so to safely treat patients. Failure to recognize the novelty and import of discoveries like these would fundamentally change the law, to the detriment of the many patients whom innovative companies seek to serve.”
Corcept’s shares were down 27% at $23.87 shortly before midday in New York.