19 August, 2008, Lysaker, Norway: Pronova BioPharma ASA (OSE: PRON.OL) ("Pronova BioPharma" or the "company") announces that the
District Court of Rome, Italy, has decided not to uphold Pronova
BioPharma's motion for a preliminary injunction against Chiesi
Farmaceutici SpA ("Chiesi Farmaceutici"). Written arguments of the
court's ruling have not yet been made available, and consequently the
company is not in a position to comment on the contents of the
ruling. The company believes the ruling will have no commercial
impact given the continued strong growth in end-user sales and excess
demand for the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient on a global basis.
Pronova BioPharma brought a motion for a preliminary injunction
against Chiesi Farmaceutici for infringement of Pronova BioPharma's
Italian patent IT1235879 (expiring August 2009). This action followed
Chiesi Farmaceutici's filing of a marketing authorization application
with the Italian Pharmaceutical Agency (AIFA) for approval of a
pharmaceutical product covered by Pronova BioPharma's patent. If and
when a regulatory approval is granted, Chiesi Farmaceutici may launch
a pharmaceutical product covered by the patent.
Tomas Settevik, Chief Executive Officer of Pronova BioPharma,
commented:
"We disagree with the decision by the District Court of Rome, and
will carefully consider all available options to ensure that our
intellectual property rights are upheld in Italy. Furthermore, we
will continue to work actively with our Italian partners to uphold
and strengthen the market position for Seacor, Eskim and Esapent (the
trade marks under which Omacor® is sold in Italy)."
-- Ends --
For further information, please contact:
Hilde Steineger, Head of IR +47 48 00 42 40
Tomas Settevik, CEO +47 22 53 48 61
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