The trial will consolidate the cases against Andrx, Kudco and Genpharm. The fourth defendant, Reddy Cheminor has requested that its case also be heard in New York but it has not yet been transferred.

The trial, which will not involve a jury, will include consideration of the validity of four AstraZeneca patents relating to the formulation and use of Prilosec and will determine whether the defendants in the case infringe those patents deemed to be valid by Judge Jones. An additional patent will be considered in the case against Andrx only.

AstraZeneca remains confident of the strength and validity of the intellectual property position, which forms the basis of its case against the defendant.