BAYER will receive more than $30 million in damages and interest after receiving a favourable judgement in its long-running case with Generic Health over patent infringement for its Yasmin and YAZ oral contraceptives.
The Federal Court of Australia ruling found Generic Health had infringed Bayer's patent on the products by manufacturing and selling the oral contraceptive known as Isabelle.
The original judgement was handed down in 2013 but was stayed pending an appeal, which was later dismissed along with an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court in 2014.
Bayer's claim for damages amounted to $25 million, based on an assessment of its lost profits where each sale of Isabelle, and of Petibelle, a generic version of Yasmin introduced by Bayer, was taken to be a lost sale of Yasmin.
Nelson Ambrogio, gm of Bayer Pharmaceuticals Australia/NZ, said the decision confirms the company's intellectual property rights relating to Yasmin and YAZ.
"We will always defend these rights whenever this becomes necessary and will continue to do so.
"Without the protection of their intellectual property, research-driven pharmaceutical companies cannot bring new medical innovations to those patients who need them most," Ambrogio said.
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