Federal Circuit says Novartis invention is unpatentable

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a ruling of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that a patent belonging to Novartis and Mitsubishi Pharma is obvious.

Handed down yesterday, April 12, the Federal Circuit’s ruling said it had considered Novartis’s arguments, but concluded that they were without merit.

The case arose after Mylan, Apotex and Torrent Pharmaceuticals filed inter partes reviews (IPRs) asking the PTAB to re-evaluate US patent number 8,324,283.

It is titled “Solid pharmaceutical compositions comprising a SIP receptor agonist and a sugar alcohol”.

The PTAB instituted IPRs on all claims of the ‘283 patent and, after reviewing them, decided that they were obvious.

Novartis and Mitsubishi appealed but the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s decision.