Bayer wins $142m franchise battle

Bayer has prevailed against a challenge to patents protecting its anticoagulation medicine Xarelto, in a ruling which fends off the PBS listing of nine generic competitors.

The ruling means Xarelto, whose patent on the active ingredient rivaroxaban is due to expire on 24 November 2023, will remain under patent protection in Australia until at least 2026. The drug earned $142.4 million in pre-rebate reimbursements on the R/PBS in the financial year ending June 23.

"With over 150 rivaroxaban products approved (9 of them for Bayer), the outcome of the Sandoz challenge to the validity of the AU Bayer (Xarelto) patents may be the case with the broadest commercial interest this decade," wrote Naomi Pearce and Sian Hope, of Pearce IP lawyers.