Indivior wins patent ruling on Suboxone Film heroin substitute

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - British drugs company Indivior (Berlin: 2IV.BE - news) said on Friday it had won a U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . patent battle against Actavis and Par Pharmaceutical over its main product, heroin substitute Suboxone Film, boosting its shares.

Indivior (LSE: INDV.L - news) , which was spun off from Reckitt Benckiser (Xetra: A0M1W6 - news) at the end of 2014, said the threat of early generic competition has "receded significantly" following the ruling, and its business model would not be undermined in the immediate future.

Two of three patents were found to be valid by the U.S. District Court of Delaware and one was deemed to have been infringed, which analysts said was sufficient for Indivior to retain the patent protection needed to prevent a generic launch.

Chief Executive Shaun Thaxter said the confirmation gave the certainty needed to continue to develop Indivior as the leading addiction treatment company.

"While welcoming this good news, we recognise that Indivior still needs long-term certainty, so we will leverage this outcome to seek a positive resolution of all the outstanding ANDA litigation involving Suboxone Film," he said in a statement.

"Our confidence in the long-term future of Indivior has received a good boost today, and we look forward to the next chapter in our development."

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the group rose as much as 44 percent to a 10-month high, closing on Friday up 36 percent at 235 pence.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank (LSE: 0H7D.L - news) said that the ruling was not completely straightforward.

"But it should be enough to prevent generics of Suboxone Film launching until 2024 giving Indivior enough time to transition the franchise onto its follow-on product," they said.

Suboxone Film is Indivior's principal product and had a 60 percent share of the U.S. market in the first quarter, the company said last month. Indivior's net revenue last year fell 9 percent to $1.01 billion, with net profit down 43 percent at $228 million. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Greg Mahlich)