Judge Richard Andrews of the District of Delaware dismissed counterclaims lodged by two generic drug manufacturers, finding that no justiciable declaratory judgment controversy arises for an ANDA filer who only submits statements pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 355(j)(2)(A)(viii) (“Section viii statements”). In re: Entresto (Sacubitril/Valsartan) Patent Litigation, No. 20-md-02930 (D. Del. Sept. 27, 2022).
This…

In a recent order, Judge John Bailey from the Western District of Virginia denied Defendant Mylan’s 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss § 271(e) infringement claims despite the USPTO issuing Plaintiff AstraZeneca’s patent after the FDA approved Mylan’s ANDA. AstraZeneca AB v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc_, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123111. Mylan’s ANDA application was approved on…

Section 112 written description requirements present a challenge for patentees claiming negative limitations, as the extent to which a specification needs to disclose the absence of a feature is not entirely clear, especially following the recent Federal Circuit case Novartis v. HEC Pharm Case No. 1:18-cv-01043-KAJ (Fed. Cir. June 21, 2022). In its review of…

In a recently unsealed opinion from the District of Delaware, Judge Dyk of the Federal Circuit sitting by designation, held a patent in the “inherently unpredictable” field of antibodies invalid on summary judgment for failing to satisfy the enablement requirement.  Baxalta Inc. v. Genentech Inc. Delaware Opinion, Case No. 17-cv-509-TBD (D. Del. Jan. 13,…

Last week, Judge Andrews from the District of Delaware granted Defendant Hikma’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff Amarin’s induced infringement claims related to the drug Vascepa®. Amarin Pharma, Inc. v. Hikma Pharm. USA Inc. Amarin sells Vascepa® for two indications: severe hypertriglyceridemia (the “SH indication”) and cardiovascular risk reduction (the “CV indication”). Hikma received FDA approval…

Recently, District Judge John Z. Lee of the Northern District of Illinois refused to dismiss a patent infringement suit brought under the Biosimilar Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”) against a foreign parent company on the grounds that the domestic subsidiary was not a necessary party. See AbbVie Inc. v. Alvotech hf., No. 21-cv-02258 (N.D.

Recently, the Eleventh Circuit sided with Florida-based Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc., holding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s interpretation of the Orphan Drug Act is contrary to the plain language of the statute. Catalyst Pharm., Inc. v. Becerra. The court found that the FDA unlawfully infringed on an exclusivity period it awarded to Catalyst for…