Cephalon sues Watson Pharmaceuticals over generic version of sleep disorder drug Nuvigil

Cephalon sues Watson over sleep drug Nuvigil

NEW YORK — Cephalon Inc. on Wednesday confirmed it is suing generic drug developer Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. over that company’s plan to make a generic version of Cephalon’s sleep disorder drug Nuvigil.

Cephalon is already suing generic drug developer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. in a similar patent dispute over the sleep disorder drug, which was launched during the third quarter. It is an updated version of the sleep-disorder drug Provigil and had sales of $21 million during the third quarter. Provigil, meanwhile, had sales of $258 million during the third quarter.

In prior years, Cephalon settled patent disputes with companies including Teva and Watson over Provigil.

The latest lawsuit was sparked by Watson’s Food and Drug Administration request for approval on various doses of a generic version of Nuvigil. Cephalon’s suit with Watson triggers a mandatory waiting period that will prevent the FDA from approving generic Nuvigil for the next 30 months, or until a court makes a ruling on the lawsuit.

The latest lawsuit against Watson was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Shares of Cephalon, which is based in Frazer, Pa., rose 13 cents to $63.10 in morning trading. Shares of Watson, which is based in Corona, Calif., rose 7 cents to $39.96.