AstraZeneca shares jump after victory in Crestor patent dispute

Shares in AstraZeneca shot up 10% to 3232p today, after the British pharmaceuticals giant won a major court victory over its money-spinning cholesterol drug Crestor, securing the right to sell the medicine exclusively until 2016.

Generic drugmakers including Teva and Apotex — who make cheaper, copycat versions of medicines once their patents run out — took the British firm to court in the US to challenge Crestor's patent.

However, last night a Delaware judge upheld AstraZeneca's exclusivity on the drug, saying it's patent was "valid and enforceable".

The news gives AstraZeneca a significant boost since Crestor brought in sales worth $4.5 billion
(£3 billion) in 2009, with $2.1 billion of those coming from the US.

But AstraZeneca still faces one of the most dramatic "patent cliffs" — when revenue drops off as generic drugmakers enter key markets — of all the pharma firms over the next few years.

Although Crestor is ringfenced for now, Pfizer's rival cholestrol drug Lipitor goes off-patent in 2011, and analysts expect that to hit Astra's sales.

There is also a potential challenge to its blood-clotting drug Brilinta, which is to be reviewed by the US drug watchdog.