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Tag Archives: Sandoz

Federal Circuit Upholds One Claim Covering Combigan

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 103; Federal Circuit Decisions

In Allergan, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., the Federal Circuit reversed the district court in part, finding that Allergan’s composition claims and most of its method claims are invalid as obvious, but upholding one method claim because it recites a non-obvious result. Some of the court’s reasoning in this opinion is troubling, and the non-obvious result may be difficult to extrapolate to other cases, but this case illustrates the value of including a variety of claims that focus on different aspects of the same invention.Continue reading this entry

The “Lead Compound” Approach To Obviousness And Obviousness-Type Double Patenting

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 103; Federal Circuit Decisions

In Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. v. Sandoz, Inc., the Federal Circuit upheld the district court’s determination that the claims at issue were neither obvious nor invalid under the doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting based on a “lead compound” approach to the obviousness determinations. This case reaffirms the applicability of the “lead compound” analytical framework, and highlights subtle differences in its application to questions of obviousness and obviousness-type double patenting. Continue reading this entry

Federal Circuit Clears Way For Generic Yasmin

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in Federal Circuit Decisions

In Bayer Schering Pharma AG v. Lupin, Ltd., the Federal Circuit upheld the district court’s determination that the Abbreviated New Drug Applications at issue did not infringe the asserted patent related to Yasmin. In particular, the Federal Circuit agreed that the FDA had not approved Yasmin for the method of use claimed in the patent, and so filing the ANDAs could not amount to infringement of the patent.

While this case is similar to Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs., Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/S, in that it relates to a method of use patent in the ANDA framework, it raises different issues than those decided by the Supreme Court a day after this Federal Circuit decision was issued. (Please see this article for a discussion of Caraco.)

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