The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey also gave the Anglo-Swedish drug maker permission to file for a motion of summary judgment no later than March 18.
LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca <AZN.L> said on Wednesday a U.S. court would hear its patent case against Teva <TEVA.O> and Sandoz <NOVN.VX>, which are seeking to make a generic version of schizophrenia drug Seroquel, from August 11.
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey also gave the Anglo-Swedish drug maker permission to file for a motion of summary judgment no later than March 18.
AstraZeneca hopes that a summary judgment may shut down the generic threat early. Generics could, in theory, enter the U.S. market as early as the end of this month, when a 30-month stay on approvals for copies of the medicine is lifted.
Launching ahead of the August trial would leave Teva exposed to paying damages if the court later backed AstraZeneca's patent position -- but generic companies are increasingly opting to pursue such "at risk" launches.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Seroquel, which is also used to treat bipolar disorder, generated worldwide sales of $4 billion last year and is one of AstraZeneca's most profitable medicines.
Losing it to generics would be a major blow, although most analysts think the patents protecting Seroquel are stronger than those covering Nexium, AstraZeneca's top-selling heartburn and ulcer pill, which also faces a patent challenge.
Nexium is the second biggest prescription medicine globally, with sales of $5.2 billion in 2007.
Initially, Teva would only be able to launch the 25 mg dose of Seroquel, accounting for around a quarter of U.S. prescriptions of the drug. If it waits until August, it would be able to launch more doses.
An AstraZeneca spokesman said: "We remain confident in the validity and enforceability of the Seroquel patent and that AstraZeneca will prevail at trial."
Worries about the threat of generic competition to its top two medicines have hit AstraZeneca shares hard recently and the stock is down around 15 percent since the end of last year.
The shares were up 1.2 percent at 18.55 pounds, in line with a firmer London market by 4:44 a.m. EDT.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Louise Ireland))
