Hospira successfully revokes Cubist patents

The English High Court made its decision on the UK Hospira and Cubist Pharmaceuticals patent dispute last Friday, June 10, concluding that three Cubist-owned patents are invalid.

The case revolved around three patents owned by Cubist, European patent numbers 1,115,417; 1,252,179; and 2,264,047, which Hospira sought to revoke.

All three patents concerned the antibiotic daptomycin, which was originally discovered by Eli Lilly in the 1980s.

Daptomycin is used in the treatment of systemic and life-threatening infections caused by gram-positive organisms.

The court’s conclusion was made based on the obviousness of the three patents.

For this reason, Hospira’s claim for revocation has been successful and it may proceed with bringing its generic version of daptomycin to market.