Federal Circuit reverses infringement finding in Angiomax dispute

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed a district court’s ruling of infringement in a patent dispute between The Medicines Company and Mylan.

The Federal Circuit’s decision, which was handed down on Thursday, April 6, also affirmed the district court’s summary judgment of non-infringement of the other patent involved in the case.

In 2010, Mylan filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the Food and Drug Administration seeking to bring a generic version of Angiomax (bivalirudin) to market, which gave rise to the dispute between the two companies.

Angiomax is used for thinning the blood in patients with unstable angina, a chest pain caused when an area of the heart muscle is receiving decreased supply of  oxygen in the blood..

The Medicines Company is the owner of US patent numbers 7,582,727 and 7,598,343.

In response to Mylan’s ANDA, The Medicines Company filed suit at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging that Mylan’s ANDA infringed claims of its patents.

Mylan counterclaimed by seeking a declaration that the patents were invalid.

According to the Federal Circuit’s decision, the district court held that the ‘343 patent was not infringed but that the ‘727 patent was.

In response to the district court’s ruling, the Federal Circuit said: “We … reverse the district court’s judgment of infringement with respect to the ‘727 patent, and affirm its summary judgment of non-infringement with respect to the ‘343 patent.”

It added: “The judgment of the district court is reversed in part and affirmed in part.”