Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has asked the Tel Aviv District Court to postpone legal proceedings initiated by Proneuron Technologies Ltd. Teva says that the contract between the companies mandates arbitration, which the petitioner seeks to abrogate.
The contract’s arbitration clause stipulates that any claim, dispute or disagreement arising from the contract or in relation to it will be settled exclusively by arbitration that will be conducted in London after all prior negotiations and compromise are exhausted.
The subject in Proneuron’s petition mainly relates to a clinical trial Teva began to carry out in July 2006 to test the effectiveness of Copaxone on patients suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Proneuron claims that extraneous considerations were applied in the trial in violation of the licensing agreement of March 2005. The company claims that the trial did comply with the requirements and standards stipulated in the licensing agreement, which constituted a material breach of the agreement. The company wants to the court to declare that Teva violated the licensing agreement between the parties under circumstances that make Proneuron eligible for relief for cancellation of the agreement.
In its statement of response, Teva rejected Proneuron’s claims out of hand, and said that the claim’s legal and factual basis was groundless. Teva said that it acted in accordance with the instructions of the licensing agreement and complied with established and strict standards with the honest and genuine goal of developing an effective and safe treatment for ALS. Teva said that Proneuron therefore has no grounds for cancelling the agreement.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 21, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007