The U.S. District Court in Delaware rejected Israeli generic drug company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. request to sell a generic version of Procter & Gamble's drug Actonel . The ruling is part of a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Teva in 2004.

Teva's claimed that Procter & Gamble's patent for the drug was not valid due to the obviousness of the invention.

Procter & Gamble's patent for risedronate (US5583122), the active ingredient in Actonel ,will remain valid until 2013. Actonel was approved in 2000 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention and treatmentof osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Teva has declared that it will appeal the ruling.

Another law suit was filed by Procter & Gamble against Teva in February 2008 regarding patent no. US558312.