Eisai is Granted Favorable Preliminary Injunction Ruling in Aricept® Patent Infringement Lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals

Eisai Co., Ltd.
Eisai Inc.

Eisai Co., Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiary Eisai Inc. (collectively “Eisai”) today announced that the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Eisai's favor with respect to Eisai's motion for a preliminary injunction in its patent infringement lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals and its division Gate Pharmaceuticals (collectively “Teva”) concerning Aricept® (generic name: donepezil hydrochloride tablets).

As previously announced, Eisai filed the infringement actions in December 2005 contesting Teva's submission of an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) to the FDA for Aricept®.
“We are pleased with the court's preliminary injunction decision to prevent the sale of Teva's generic product before the expiration of the donepezil composition of matter patent,” said Mr. Hajime Shimizu, Chairman & CEO of Eisai Corporation of North America and Eisai Inc.
“We will continue to actively protect our intellectual property throughout the world.”

Aricept®, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor developed by Eisai Co., Ltd. in Japan, increases the concentration of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. Aricept® was launched in the United States in 1997 and is indicated for the treatment of mild, moderate, and severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type. In the United States, Eisai Inc. copromotes Aricept® with Pfizer Inc.