Medicis Solves One Solodyn Problem But Barr Pops Up With Another

(MoneyWatch)  Barr Pharmaceuticals has filed to make a generic version of Medicis's acne drug, Solodyn. Medicis stock had received a nice boost at the beginning of December when it announced an unexpected deal with a different company, Impax, over generic versions of Solodyn.

The deal meant Medicis would share revenue and development of Solodyn with Impax until 2011. Medicis's patent on Solodyn expires in 2018. Solodyn is the bulk of Medicis's revenues.

Now, with the Barr filing, the company faces a new threat to Solodyn. In an 8-K filing with the SEC, the company said:

Barr has not advised Medicis as to the timing or status of the FDA's review of its filing, or whether it has complied with FDA requirements for proving bioequivalence. Barr's Paragraph IV Certification alleges that Medicis's U.S. Patent No. 5,908,838 (the "'838 Patent"), is invalid, unenforceable and/or will not be infringed by either Barr's manufacture, use, or sale of the product for which the ANDA was submitted.

The filing puts one more squeeze on Medicis, which is the smallest company in a three-way battle (with Allergan and J&J) over the vanity pharma market.