Teva, Sun Pharma to pay $2.15 billion to settle Pfizer patent suit

By Pallavi Ail (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc said Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd would pay $2.15 billion to settle a patent suit related to its acid-reflux drug. This is the first instance of generic drugmakers paying damages for marketing a copy of an existing drug for which patents have yet to expire – known as an 'at-risk' launch. The Pfizer drug, Protonix, recorded peak annual revenue of almost $2 billion in 2007, before sales plunged following the launch of generic versions by Teva in 2007 and Sun Pharma in 2008. …