Patent Baristas

Harvard Drug Group has filed an antitrust class action suit against Purdue Pharma alleging an unlawful scheme to maintain its monopoly in the U.S. for its brand name prescription drug OxyContin CR, the notorious opioid analgesic prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain.  OxyContin CR (oxycodone hydrochloride) is a controlled release formulation.  (Harvard Drug Group […]

In 2004, Tercica, a licensee under a Genentech patent for a growth hormone, filed suit against Insmed in the U.K. alleging infringement of EP patent No. 571,417, or the ‘417 patent. The ‘417 patent has claims directed to particular uses of a combination of IGFBP-3 and IGF-1. In the complaint, Tercica asked the court for an […]

Earlier, Novozymes won a patent infringement suit against Danisco concerning infringement of a Novozymes patent on enzymes for bioethanol. The court ordered Danisco to pay damages of $4 million, which has now been doubled to $8 million as the court found the case to be one of ‘willful infringement’. Novozymes was also awarded a share […]

Sanofi-Aventis SA lost a U.S. patent challenge brought by generic drugmakers Amphastar Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. over Sanofi’s blockbuster anticoagulant drug, Lovenox. Lovenox is Sanofi’s best-selling drug, with sales over $2.79 billion in 2005 — even more than Plavix. Lovenox is an injectable drug used in protecting patients against deep vein thrombosis or […]

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that whether broadened claims are invalidated by the recapture rule is an issue separate from construction. (MBO Laboratories v. Becton, Dickinson & Company; 06-1062).  In this case, MBO appealled a summary judgment of noninfringement of U.S. Patent No. RE 36,885 based on the district court’s claim […]

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the ruling of a federal court that its generic version of painkiller Ultracet does not infringe upon Ortho-McNeil’s patent. (Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories; 06-1102).  Caraco’s Abbreviated New Drug Application was to make and sell a pharmaceutical composition containing tramadol and acetaminophen with an […]

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit poked another hole in the state immunity shield that that public universities and other state entities use to protect themselves from lawsuits in federal court. (Vas-Cath, Inc. v. , University of Missouri; 06-1100).After Vas-Cath, Inc. had appealed the dismissal of its appeal of the decision of the USPTO […]

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a petition to rehear by Apotex asking the Federal Circuit to reconsider a ruling that Apotex is barred from selling its generic version of the anticlotting drug Plavix while Apotex continues its five-year patent lawsuit with Sanofi-Aventis. The trial began this week with […]