(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Teva Pharmaceutical over the company's refusal to take down about two dozen patents for its asthma and COPD inhalers, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing agency documents.
The FTC last week ordered Teva to provide internal communications, analysis and financial data related to the contested patents listed in a federal registry known as the Orange Book, according to the report.
Teva has to cooperate with the agency's demand by July 24, the report said.
The FTC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In a statement to Reuters, Teva said it "believes that its patents are properly listed in the Orange Book and continues to stand behind the company’s intellectual property," it said.
COPD is the acronym for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Maju Samuel and Jonathan Oatis)