February 17, 2006
It was announced yesterday that AstraZeneca PLC has filed its Notice of Appeal of a January 17, 2006 ruling that two of its patents were invalid and unenforceable. Judge Sippel of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted summary judgment against AstraZeneca on two grounds: (1) the patents were invalid for anticipation and double-patenting grounds, and (2) inequitable conduct regarding, at least in part, an inventorship dispute during prosecution. These two Patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 5,081,154 and 5,001,161) cover TOPROL-XL® (metroprolol succinate, extended release tablets), both originally set to expire on September 17, 2007. Andrx Pharmaceutals LLC, Andrx Corporation, Eon Labs Manufacturing, Inc., and KV Pharmaceutical Company were individual defendants prior to the consolidation of the cases. The original opinion contains case law and analysis regarding double patenting, terminal disclaimers, and inequitable conduct regarding inventorship disputes.
AstraZeneca's Press Release: LINK
U.S. Patent No. 5,001,161: LINK
U.S. Patent No. 5,081,154: LINK
AstraZeneca's Press Release: LINK
U.S. Patent No. 5,001,161: LINK
U.S. Patent No. 5,081,154: LINK
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