AstraZeneca wins Losec ruling

ASTRAZENECA yesterday won an early skirmish in defence of its pounds 3bn ulcer drug Losec. An appeal court in Germany upheld a ruling that will block two German companies, Ratiopharm and Merckle, from selling cheap generic copies of Losec for the time being. "We think this strengthens our position," said AstraZeneca spokesman Staffan Ternby.

Losec is the world's top-selling drug with $4.8bn sales last year. As one of the first countries where patents expire, Germany is a key test ground. Losec sales in Germany last year were $185m, 4 per cent of the total.