Warner Chilcott Receives 2nd PIV Challenge for Asacol (WCRX)

On June 28th Warner Chilcott (NASDAQ:WRCX) announced it had received a Paragraph IV certification from Par Pharmaceuticals challenging Warner Chilcott's 400mg dose of Asacol. This is the second filing, after Roxane Laboratories.

Oppenheimer analysts John Newman and Christopher Holterhoff do not see a threat to WRCX. The analysts noted, "Roxane's generic version of Asacol is not FDA approved, and we note that no generic forms of oral mesalamines have ever been FDA approved."

400 mg Asacol's patent last until July 2013.

Warner Chilcott is trying to get doctors and patients to switch to Asacol HD. According to the analyst, "switching trends from Asacol to Asacol HD remain strong, with Asacol HD making up 12.3% of total Asacol franchise scripts and 16.5% of new Asacol franchise scripts."

WCRX is currently rated Outperform, with a price target of $33.00. Shares are currently tradign at $23.80.