AUSTRIAN COURT UPHOLDS PATENT ON PROMENSIL

An Austrian court has ruled for drug firm Novogen in a patent dispute over the company's menopause symptom relief product Promensil, the Sydney, Australia-based drugmaker announced recently.

Promensil is derived from red clover isoflavones, or plant estrogens.

The Vienna Commercial Court found Novogen's patent to be "novel and inventive," and found that drug company APOtrend's menopause treatment Vitalady infringed on the patent, Novogen said in a statement. The court also left in place a temporary injunction against Vitalady, which means APOtrend must pull the products off the market, Novogen said.