Novartis is currently involved in a multi-district patent litigation campaign to block generic entrants for Entresto®, which is Novartis’ blockbuster heart medication. In the fall of 2022, Novartis went to trial on the validity of one of the asserted patents, U.S. Patent No. 8,101,659(“the ‘659 patent”). On July 7, 2023, the district court invalidated the patent for lack of written description despite rejecting an enablement defense based upon the same evidence. The district court’s decision highlights a clear tension between claim construction and enablement that, if left to stand, could permit pharmaceutical companies to block lower-cost generic medications with patents they did not actually invent. Read the full post at IPWatchddog.
Read MoreNovartis is currently embroiled in a sprawling multi-district patent-litigation campaign to block generic entrants for Entresto®, which is Novartis’ blockbuster heart medication. Numerous generics have filed ANDAs, and Novartis has asserted a variety of patents against them. In the fall of 2022, Novartis went to trial on the validity of one of the patents, U.S. Patent No. 8,101,659 (“the ‘659 patent”). The trial briefs suggest Novartis is asking the court to block lower-cost generic entrants based on a patent that it didn’t really invent. How can this be?
Read More