TEVA, ABBOTT SETTLE PATENT LAWSUIT

Israeli generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Laboratories have agreed to settle a patent lawsuit involving Abbott's antibiotic Biaxin XL.

Biaxin XL is the extended-release formulation of Biaxin, which already faces competitive pressure from generics. Teva has agreed to stop selling its version of the drug.

Abbott had charged that Teva should be prohibited from marketing a generic version of Abbott's drug until further action from a U.S. federal court. Abbott said it filed a motion requesting the court enforce an earlier injunction as part of an ongoing battle between the companies over the drug. A trial on the matter was scheduled for March 2007.