AstraZeneca has settled a USA legal case with generic firms Watson Laboratories

The settlement follows an appeal court ruling in December involving other firms upholding the patent on the top-selling cholesterol drug Crestor.

Watson and Egis have now both conceded the Crestor substance patent was valid under the latest deal. The two companies had been trying to skirt round the patent by developing an alternative chemical version of Crestor.

The agreement allows Watson to begin selling a generic form of Crestor on May 2 2016 at a fee to AstraZeneca of 39 percent of net sales, until the end of pediatric exclusivity on the drug on July 8 2016. Egis, Watson’s partner, will also benefit from sales of the product.

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