Shares of TWi Pharmaceuticals Inc (安成) fell 9.76 percent after the company said last week that it lost a patent infringement lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceutical Co of Japan in the US.
The company's shares fell also because some investors took the opportunity to cash in recent gains in the stock.
While the Taiwanese firm said it would appeal, analysts said risks associated with the litigation outcome and other implications would rise accordingly.
On Friday, the company confirmed that the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of Takeda’s claims that TWi had infringed on the Japanese firm’s patent No. 7,737,282 concerning an amorphous form of the dexlansopraozle delayed-release capsules, or the generic version of Takeda’s Dexilant.
Dexilant is used to treat heartburn associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and also erosive esophagitis (EE). TWi is seeking to launch a generic version of Dexilant prior to the patents’ expirations, with the latest ending on Sept. 17, 2030.
Citigroup Global Markets estimated that generic Dexilantis, once launched by TWi in 2015, could generate US$25 million revenue to account for 21 percent of the company’s total revenue. The company reported NT$355 million (US$12.1 million) in sales last year.
According to data compiled by researcher IMS Health Inc, the total annual sales of Dexilant in the US were about US$771 million last year.
In April 2011, Takeda initiated the lawsuit against the TWi regarding six patents registered in the US after the latter filed an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) with a Paragraph IV certification for its generic version of Dexilant in November 2010.
TWi said it had previously prevailed on the other five patents.
“TWi respectfully disagrees with the Court’s decision on the ‘282 patent and intends to appeal the decision,” the company said in a statement on its Web site.
However, First Capital Management Inc (第一金證券投顧) said the company’s move to bring the case to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit meant it would take six quarters to know the outcome, while Citigroup said risk associated with an unfavorable litigation outcome or a delayed launch of the product has increased, according to their separate client notes yesterday.
TWi shares fell NT$37 to NT$342 on the Emerging Stock Market yesterday. At one point, they lost as much as 12.9 percent, according to the over-the-counter market statistics. So far this year, the shares have surged by nearly 155 percent.
TWi focuses on developing specialty generic prescription drugs for the US market and it has filed nine ANDAs with the US Food and Drug Administration, with plans to launch the drugs in the next three to four years.
The company’s most significant Paragraph IV opportunities are generic versions of Dexilant, Lidoderm (for the relief of pain associated with post-herpetic neuralgia) and Megace ES (used to treat anorexia or wasting of AIDS patients).
TWi has inked US marketing agreements with partners including Teva Pharmaceutical, Par Pharmaceutical and Boca Pharmacal on six drugs on its ANDA pipeline.
First Capital said the company would remain in the red this year, for a net loss of NT$5.5 per share, but forecast a turn around following launches of several generic products over the next few years.
In the first half of the year, TWi reported a net loss per share of NT$3.3, compared with a net loss of NT$2.59 per share in the same period year, according to company data.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
RSS