LEXINGTON, Massachusetts, January 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) today announced that the U.S. Supreme Court granted Shire's petition in the Shire v. Watson patent case regarding LIALDA(R) (mesalamine, 1.2 gram). The granting of this petition by the Supreme Court vacates the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with respect to the claim construction in the case against Watson (now Actavis).

In 2013, Shire prevailed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in a patent litigation against Watson (now Actavis) involving U.S. Patent No. 6,773,720 for LIALDA. On appeal, the Federal Circuit reversed the District Court's claim construction. With the granting of the petition by the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit's decision on claim construction is vacated, and the case will be remanded back to the Federal Circuit for further consideration under the deferential standard of review announced by the Supreme Court last week in Teva v. Sandoz.

Shire is pleased with the Supreme Court's recent action and believes that it substantiates Shire's continued confidence in its patent position.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Shire enables people with life-altering conditions to lead better lives.

Our strategy is to focus on developing and marketing innovative specialty medicines to meet significant unmet patient needs.

We focus on providing treatments in Rare Diseases, Neuroscience, Gastrointestinal, and Internal Medicine and we are developing treatments for symptomatic conditions treated by specialist physicians in other targeted therapeutic areas, such as Ophthalmics.

http://www.shire.com

SHIRE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements included herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time. In the event such risks or uncertainties materialize, Shire's results could be materially adversely affected. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, that: 


        
        - Shire's products may not be a commercial success;
        - revenues from ADDERALL XR and INTUNIV are subject to generic erosion;
        - the failure to obtain and maintain reimbursement, or an adequate level of
          reimbursement, by third-party payors in a timely manner for Shire's products may
          impact future revenues, financial condition and results of operations;
        - Shire conducts its own manufacturing operations for certain of its products
          and is reliant on third party contract manufacturers to manufacture other products and
          to provide goods and services. Some of Shire's products or ingredients are only
          available from a single approved source for manufacture. Any disruption to the supply
          chain for any of Shire's products may result in Shire being unable to continue
          marketing or developing a product or may result in Shire being unable to do so on a
          commercially viable basis for some period of time;
        - the development, approval and manufacturing of Shire's products is subject to
          extensive oversight by various regulatory agencies. Submission of an application for
          regulatory approval of any of our product candidates, such as our planned submission
          of a New Drug Application to the FDA for Lifitegrast, may be delayed for any number of
          reasons and, once submitted, may be subjected to lengthy review and ultimately
          rejected. Moreover, regulatory approvals or interventions associated with changes to
          manufacturing sites, ingredients or manufacturing processes could lead to significant
          delays, increase in operating costs, lost product sales, an interruption of research
          activities or the delay of new product launches;
        - the actions of certain customers could affect Shire's ability to sell or
          market products profitably. Fluctuations in buying or distribution patterns by such
          customers can adversely impact Shire's revenues, financial condition or results of
          operations;
        - investigations or enforcement action by regulatory authorities or law
          enforcement agencies relating to Shire's activities in the highly regulated markets in
          which it operates may result in significant legal costs and the payment of substantial
          compensation or fines;
        - adverse outcomes in legal matters and other disputes, including Shire's
          ability to enforce and defend patents and other intellectual property rights required
          for its business, could have a material adverse effect on Shire's revenues, financial
          condition or results of operations;
        - Shire faces intense competition for highly qualified personnel from other
          companies, academic institutions, government entities and other organizations. Shire
          is undergoing a corporate reorganization and the consequent uncertainty could
          adversely impact Shire's ability to attract and/or retain the highly skilled personnel
          needed for Shire to meet its strategic objectives;
        - failure to achieve Shire's strategic objectives with respect to the
          acquisition of ViroPharma Incorporated may adversely affect Shire's financial
          condition and results of operations;
        - Shire's proposed acquisition of NPS Pharma may not be consummated due to the
          occurrence of an event, change or other circumstances that gives rise to the
          termination of the merger agreement;
        - a governmental or regulatory approval required for the proposed acquisition of
          NPS Pharma may not obtained, or may be obtained subject to conditions that are not
          anticipated, or another condition to the closing of the proposed acquisition may not
          be satisfied;
        - NPS Pharma may be unable to retain and hire key personnel and/or maintain its
          relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners pending the
          consummation of the proposed acquisition by Shire, or NPS Pharma's business may be
          disrupted by the proposed acquisition, including increased costs and diversion of
          management time and resources;
        - difficulties in integrating NPS Pharma into Shire may lead to the combined
          company not being able to realize the expected operating efficiencies, cost savings,
          revenue enhancements, synergies or other benefits at the time anticipated or at all;

and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Shire's or NPS Pharma's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including their respective most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Shire plc