UPDATE 1-AstraZeneca wins US ban on generic of asthma drug

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. court has granted an injunction that bars Apotex from selling a generic version of AstraZeneca's lucrative Pulmicort Respules asthma medicine prior to a patent infringement trial, the British drugmaker said on Wednesday.

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apotex last month to stop the privately held Canadian company from selling the generic before its U.S. patents expire.

Astra said a trial date for the patent litigation, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, has not been set.

Apotex was granted approval for a generic version of the asthma medicine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"AstraZeneca has full confidence in the strength of its intellectual property rights protecting Pulmicort Respules and will continue to vigorously defend and enforce its intellectual property," the company said in a statement.

Pulmicort had U.S. sales of $982 million in 2008 with about 90 percent of that coming from the form of the medicine that is being disputed in the patent case.

AstraZeneca in November reached a settlement with Israel- based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA.TA), the first generic drugmaker to gain FDA approval to sell cheaper copies of the asthma medicine.

Under the terms of that deal, Teva agreed not to resume selling its version of the drug until Dec. 15, 2009 under an exclusive license from AstraZeneca for which Teva will pay a royalty on sales of the generic.

Teva also conceded that AstraZeneca's Pulmicort patents were valid and enforceable and that its generic infringed AstraZeneca's patents.