U.S. court upholds patent case against Teva

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's ruling that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) infringed on two patents held by Pfizer (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) related to its popular Celebrex drug.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected claims by Teva that the two Celebrex patents at issue in the case were invalid, although it agreed with Teva that a third patent was invalid.

A U.S. district court in Newark ruled in favor of Pfizer, upholding its three main patents for Celebrex nearly a year ago. The decision barred Israel-based Teva from launching a competitor drug in the United States until December 2015.

Pfizer sued Teva in February 2004 after the generic drugmaker asked U.S. regulators for permission to sell a copycat version of Celebrex.

Celebrex, approved in 1998, is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is one of Pfizer's biggest revenue producers with annual global sales of $2.3 billion.

Pfizer shares were down 1.1 percent to $21.35, amid a moderate downturn for the drug sector.

(Reporting by Peter Kaplan; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)