JERUSALEM A generic drug maker announced that a court of appeals upheld a decision regarding a patent of a popular antipsychotic medication.

Teva said that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a July 1, 2008 decision by the District Court to grant AstraZeneca’s motion for summary judgment of no inequitable conduct related to U.S. Patent No. 4,879,288.

As a result of the decision, Teva expects to market its generic version of AstraZeneca's antipsychotic Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate tablets) no later than March 2012, when the patent is otherwise set to expire.