Raising the bar to patentability

On May 5, 2016, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit—sitting en banc—heard arguments to address whether an inventor’s use of third-party manufacturing services triggers the on-sale bar to the patentability of an invention, while the same activities conducted in-house would not implicate the same statute. The case is The Medicines Company v Hospira. The issues before the 12-judge en banc Federal Circuit are of particular concern to biotechnology innovators as many use third-party contractors to develop or manufacture their products.