Krka, d. d., Novo mesto is informing the public that its subsidiary Krka Sverige AB, Sweden (hereafter Krka Sverige) received the decision of the Enforcement Court in Copenhagen and decision of the Enforcement court in Oslo.

The Court in Copenhagen rejected the motion requested by AstraZeneca AB, Sweden and its subsidiary AstraZeneca A/S for issuing a temporary injunction that would prohibit Krka Sverige from importing and selling the medicine containing esomeprazole active ingredient in Denmark. This decision is not yet final. Krka Sverige is expecting that AstraZeneca AB and AstraZeneca A/S will appeal to this decision.

The Court in Oslo has granted the motion requested by AstraZeneca AB, Sweden and its subsidiary AstraZeneca A/S for issuing a temporary injunction that is prohibiting Krka Sverige from importing and selling the medicine containing esomeprazole active ingredient in Norway. Therefore the court prohibited Krka Sverige from putting on the Norwegian market the medicinal products containing esomeprazole as the active ingredient with optical purity of more than 99.8% enantiometric excess due to alleged infringement of AstraZeneca patent NO 307 378 (belonging to the same patent family as EP 1 020461).

Krka Sverige will file an appeal against this court decision, however the court decision is in force and the appeal does not defer its effects. The decision would cease to be valid, if AstraZeneca AB, Sweden and its subsidiary AstraZeneca A/S do not pay the security amounting to NOK 44 million (EUR 5.5 million) until 14 January 2011 and if they do not file a lawsuit for alleged infringement of the patent NO 307 378 until 31 January 2011.

Krka Sverige is confident that the patent is not infringed and believes that it will be able to prove that in the further proceedings.