December 1, 2010


Montréal (Canada) - Fasken Martineau, a leading international business law and litigation firm, commented today on the recent Federal Court of Appeal decision related to generic drug manufacturers.

In 2006, three generic companies, Apotex, Mylan/Genpharm and Cobalt Pharmaceuticals, instituted proceedings contesting the validity of H. Lundbeck A/S's patent in order to market their generic version of Cipralex, an antidepressant developed by H. Lundbeck A/S.

In 2009, the Federal Court of Canada found in favour of Fasken Martineau clients H. Lundbeck A/S and Lundbeck Canada Inc. regarding this contestation of a submission for notice of compliance.

H. Lundbeck A/S was represented throughout the proceedings by Fasken Martineau's Marie Lafleur, Julie Desrosiers, Christian Leblanc and Hilal El Ayoubi.

"This decision by the Federal Court of Appeal is a great victory for H. Lundbeck A/S, for whom putting an end to the battle waged by these three generic companies marks the crowning achievement of many years of research and development," said Julie Desrosiers, a Partner with Fasken Martineau and the head of the firm's Technology and Intellectual Property Group.

"Thanks to this product, our clients help millions of people every day, and this decision is a reminder to us all that these efforts are and will continue to be protected by law," added Julie Desrosiers.

About Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Fasken Martineau is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With over 650 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London, Paris and Johannesburg. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.fasken.com.