The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) recently considered a novel question regarding calculation of the regulatory review period for patent term extension (PTE) under 35 USC § 156 for reissued patents....more
In the mid-2000s, the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) determined that reexaminations would be more consistent and legally correct if performed by a centralized set of experienced and specially trained Examiners. As a result, the...more
Addressing the calculation of patent term extensions (PTEs) under the Hatch-Waxman Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision that under the act the issue date of the original...more
The Patent Term Extension (PTE) provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 156 compensate pharmaceutical patent owners for time they are not able to enjoy commercial market exclusivity because their products are not yet approved by the U.S....more
On March 13, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a five-year patent term extension (“PTE”) for Merck’s sugammadex patent, holding that the district court had correctly calculated PTE based on the...more
On March 13, 2025, the Federal Circuit decided in Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V. v. Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. (No. 2023-2254) how patent term extensions (PTEs) apply to reissued patents under the Hatch-Waxman Act....more
For branded drugmakers, the development of a pharmaceutical product approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all but assures generic competition. As discussed during the first installment of our Hatch-Waxman series,...more
The Federal Circuit appeal in Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V., Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC v. Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. et al., concerns whether patent term extension (PTE) for regulatory delay, in particular delay for FDA drug...more
Gain a comprehensive understanding of Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA essentials, a critical competency for legal and business professionals in the biopharmaceutical arena. Attend ACI’s Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA Proficiency Series...more
In Biogen International GmbH v. Banner Life Sciences LLC, the Federal Circuit construed language of the Hatch-Waxman patent term extension statute in a manner Biogen argued was inconsistent with the “active moiety” focus of...more
Case Name: Biogen Int’l GmbH v. Banner Life Sciences LLC, No. 18-2054-LPS, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3639 (D. Del. Jan. 7, 2020) (Stark, J.)....more
There have been many voices raised in recent years against the patent system for a variety of political, policy, or personal reasons. Indeed, there is even a book entitled Don't File a Patent that sets out the authors'...more