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Familiar Local Ring to Alcon’s Int’l Patent Dispute

A Switzerland-based company with 800 employees at operations in Irvine is suing a Canadian generic drug maker in a patent tangle over an allergy medication.

Alcon Research Ltd. and parent Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. recently sued Apotex Inc. of Toronto in an attempt to stop it from making and selling a generic version of nasal allergy drug Patanase before Alcon’s patent on it expires.

The Dallas Business Journal recently reported that Apotex had filed in July with the Food and Drug Administration for approval to make and sell generic Patanase, which has olopatadine hydrochloride as an active ingredient.

Apotex didn’t respond to a request for comment on the Alcon suit.

Alcon Research Ltd., which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, makes eye surgical devices in Irvine.

Apotex is familiar with generic drug-patent challenges.

It’s gone up against Allergan Inc., the Irvine drug maker, several times on such issues. For example, Allergan sued Apotex in a bid to block it from making and marketing a generic version of Latisse, Allergan’s drug for growing eyelashes, in September 2010, a case that’s ongoing.

In June 2010, Apotex fended off a suit brought by Senju Pharmaceutical Co. and Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan, as well as Allergan, over a patent for Zymar, an antibiotic used to treat pink eye.

Allergan and partner Roche Holdings Ltd. of Switzerland prevailed in a 2008 patent lawsuit against Apotex concerning Acular LS, a drug that Allergan makes to control pain, itching and burning after surgery to correct nearsightedness.

Prime Healthcare Buy Blocked

Ontario-based Prime Healthcare Services Foundation—the nonprofit arm of Prime Healthcare Inc., which owns four Orange County hospitals—was stopped last month by state officials from buying the Victor Valley Community Hospital in Victorville.

A statement from state Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office said, “We have concluded that this proposed sale is not in the public interest and will likely create a significant effect on the availability or accessibility of healthcare services to the affected community.”

Prime called the rejection of its $35 million bid for Victor Valley—which filed for bankruptcy in September 2010—an “inexplicable and unexpected decision.”

The company also argued that Harris “clearly has chosen to use the legal authority of her office to make league with one particular labor organization that has been running a blatantly false smear campaign of vilification against hospitals operated by Prime Healthcare.”

That was a reference to the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, which has been critical of Prime’s management. The union supported Harris in her election bid last year.

But Catherine Pelley, Victor Valley’s chief executive, said the 101-bed hospital would stay open and that she would not retire. Pelley had previously said she would retire Sept. 30 and start closing the hospital if the Prime deal didn’t go through.

Prime owns West Anaheim Medical Center, Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center, Huntington Beach Hospital and La Palma Intercommunity Hospital.

OC Vet to Tennessee

Robert Palmisano, a veteran medical device executive whose résumé includes time at companies based in Orange County, is the new chief executive of Wright Medical Group Inc.

Wright is based in Arlington, Tenn., and makes orthopedic devices. Palmisano, who is 67, succeeds interim chief executive David Stevens, who remains Wright’s chairman.

Palmisano’s experience includes being chief executive of IntraLase Corp., an Irvine eye laser maker that was sold to Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (now Abbott Medical Optics) for $800 million in 2007.

He also served as chief executive of Ev3 Inc., an endovascular device company that had a large operation in Irvine that is now part of Covidien Ltd., a medical device maker that operates from Massachusetts but has a tax-friendly headquarters in Bermuda.

Palmisano takes over Wright at a time when the company has dealt with regulatory compliance issues. Previous chief executive Gary Henley resigned in April, at a time when Wright was being monitored as part of a set-tlement of a federal investigation into the company’s consulting deals with orthopedic surgeons.

Bits and Pieces:

Brea medical testing company Beckman Coulter Inc. introduced the Allegra X-14, a centrifuge to be used in medical laboratories. Eight Orange County medical groups—including St. Jude Heritage Medical Group; Monarch HealthCare, A Medical Group Inc.; and Nautilus Healthcare Management Group—said they are working with the CalOptima Regional Extension Center in Orange to support their doctors’ transition to using electronic medical records … Placentia-Linda Hospital said it received an award for heart failure patient care from the American Heart Association. The award is given to hospitals that achieve 85% or higher adherence with the association’s guidelines for heart failure care.

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