BRL Barr Pharmaceuticals

MONTVALE, N.J., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:BRL) today announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld the 2005 decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which rejected a challenge to the lawfulness of a 1997 patent litigation settlement between its wholly owned subsidiary, Barr Laboratories, Inc., and Bayer Corporation related to the antibiotic Cipro(R). In announcing its decision, the Court of Appeals affirmed "the grant of summary judgment by the District Court for the Eastern District of New York that the Agreements were not in violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act because any anti-competitive effects caused by the Agreements were within the exclusionary zone of the patent. We further affirm the court's dismissal of the state antitrust claims." "Today's decision clearly upholds Barr's assertion that our ciprofloxacin settlement with Bayer was a valid settlement to a patent suit and cannot be used as the basis of an antitrust claim," said Bruce L. Downey, Barr's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The Appeals Court specifically noted that 'settlement of patent claims by agreement between the parties--including exchange of consideration--rather than by litigation is not precluded by the Sherman Act'." "This ruling provides additional legal precedent that will allow companies to settle patent challenge cases under terms that are both pro-competitive and pro-consumer," Downey added. "Barr continues to defend itself vigorously in a parallel appeal of the district court's decision by direct purchasers that remains pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as similar cases in several state courts." In 2000, approximately 38 class action complaints were filed by direct and indirect purchasers of ciprofloxacin in state and federal courts against Bayer, Barr, and Barr's litigation partners in the 1997 settlement. All of the federal complaints were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. In 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted summary judgment in the Company's favor. About Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical company that operates in more than 30 countries worldwide and is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. A holding company, Barr operates through its principal subsidiaries: Barr Laboratories, Inc., Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and PLIVA d.d. and its subsidiaries. The Barr Group of companies markets more than 120 generic and 27 proprietary products in the U.S. and approximately 1,025 products globally outside of the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.barrlabs.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains "forward-looking statements" which represent the current expectations and beliefs of management of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the "Company") concerning the proposed merger of the Company (the "merger") with Boron Acquisition Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (the "Teva") and other future events and their potential effects on the Company. The statements, analyses, and other information contained herein relating to the proposed merger, as well as other statements including words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," and other similar expressions, are "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Those factors include, without limitation: the difficulty in predicting the timing and outcome of legal proceedings, including patent-related matters such as patent challenge settlements and patent infringement cases; the difficulty of predicting the timing of FDA approvals; court and FDA decisions on exclusivity periods; the ability of competitors to extend exclusivity periods for their products; market and customer acceptance and demand for our pharmaceutical products; our dependence on revenues from significant customers; reimbursement policies of third party payors; our dependence on revenues from significant products; the use of estimates in the preparation of our financial statements; the impact of competitive products and pricing on products, including the launch of authorized generics; the ability to launch new products in the timeframes we expect; the availability of raw materials; the availability of any product we purchase and sell as a distributor; the regulatory environment in the markets where we operate; our exposure to product liability and other lawsuits and contingencies; the increasing cost of insurance and the availability of product liability insurance coverage; our timely and successful completion of strategic initiatives, including integrating companies (such as PLIVA d.d.) and products we acquire; fluctuations in operating results, including the effects on such results from spending for research and development, sales and marketing activities and patent challenge activities; the inherent uncertainty associated with financial projections; our expansion into international markets through our PLIVA acquisition, and the resulting currency, governmental, regulatory and other risks involved with international operations; our ability to service our significantly increased debt obligations as a result of the PLIVA acquisition; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; the reactions of the Company's customers and suppliers to the merger; and diversion of management time on merger-related issues. These and other applicable risks, cautionary statements and factors that could cause actual results to differ from the Company's forward-looking statements are included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), specifically as described in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Important Legal Information In connection with the proposed merger, Teva has filed a registration statement on Form F-4 containing a proxy statement/prospectus for shareholders of the Company with the SEC, and the Company and Teva may be filing other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC as well. Before making any voting or investment decision, investors are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction, as well as the other documents referred to in the proxy statement/prospectus carefully in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus has been mailed to the Company's shareholders. Shareholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Teva and the Company, without charge, at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov/). Copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and the filings with the SEC that are incorporated by reference in the proxy statement/prospectus can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request by mail or telephone to Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 225 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ, 07645 - Attention: Investor Relations. The Company and its directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's stockholders with respect to the proposed merger. Information about the Company's directors and executive officers and their ownership of the Company's common stock is set forth in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and the Company's proxy statement for the Company's 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Stockholders may obtain additional information regarding the interests of the Company and its directors and executive officers in the merger, which may be different than those of the Company's stockholders generally, by reading the proxy statement and other relevant documents regarding the proposed merger filed with the SEC. DATASOURCE: Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Carol A. Cox of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-201-930-3720, Web Site: http://www.barrlabs.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/089750.html

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