(Reuters)—A U.S. judge invalidated patents on Allergan Plc’.s dry eye medicine Restasis on the grounds that the patents cover obvious ideas, a decision that drove the pharmaceutical company’s shares down more than 6%. Judge William Bryson issued the ruling in federal court in Marshall, Texas, in a longstanding dispute between Allergan and generic drugmakers led…
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New Discoveries in Sjögren’s Disease
Although dryness and other symptoms of Sjögren’s disease continue to vex patients, the prospect of new treatments and a recent name change demonstrate advances in patient care.
Cliff Diving: Evergreening & Other Oddities
The glassblowers were in revolt. The island of Murano, in the 13th century, was a perfect home for the glassblowing industry. Connected to Venice through a system of bridges, Murano was surrounded by waters that protected the city from the furnaces that fueled the glassblowers’ craft. The Republic of Venice dominated trade throughout the Mediterranean,…
New Options for Patients with Concurrent Dry Eye & Rheumatic Disease
Dry eye affects at least 30 million people in the U.S. and many more around the globe. Among patients with autoimmune disease—including Sjögren’s syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis—that number can climb even higher. Although dry eye may sound like just an annoyance, it can range from mildly irritating to debilitating, depending on the extent of the…
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Allergan Bid to Use Tribe to Shield Drug Patents
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Supreme Court has cast aside pharmaceutical company Allergan Plc.’s unorthodox bid to shield patents from a federal administrative court’s review by transferring them to a Native American tribe. The justices left in place a lower court ruling upholding the authority of a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal to decide the validity…
U.S. Congress to Hold Hearing on Allergan Tribal Patent Deal
(Reuters)—A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Thursday called a November 7 hearing on the legitimacy of an agreement between drugmaker Allergan Plc and a Native American tribe intended to shield patents from administrative review. The House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on intellectual property, chaired by Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California, said in a statement…
Senator McCaskill Drafts Bill in Response to Allergan Patent Maneuver
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill on Thursday said she drafted a bill stating that tribal sovereign immunity cannot be used to block U.S. Patent and Trademark Office review of a patent. Drugmaker Allergan Plc made a deal to transfer some of its patents to a Native American tribe two weeks ago in order…
U.S. House Committee Launches Probe of Allergan Patent Deal
NEW YORK (Reuters)—A U.S. House of Representatives committee launched a probe into drugmaker Allergan Plc’s deal to transfer some of its patents to a Native American tribe to shield them from review. A bipartisan group of four representatives from the House Oversight and Government Committee, including Republican Chairman Trey Gowdy and top Democrat Elijah Cummings,…
U.S. Tribal Patent Deal Could Impact Generic Drug Market
(Reuters)—A groundbreaking deal between Allergan Plc. and a Native American tribe to shield the company’s patents in administrative proceedings could also be used be to protect them from challenges in federal court, legal experts say, potentially dealing a blow to generic competition. Allergan said on Friday it had transferred patents on its blockbuster dry eye…
Pfizer to Buy Allergan in $160 Billion Deal
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. on Monday said it would buy Botox maker Allergan Plc. in a deal worth $160 billion to slash its U.S. tax bill, rekindling a fierce political debate over the financial maneuver. The acquisition, which would shift Pfizer’s headquarters to Ireland, would be the biggest-ever tax inversion. The news prompted Democratic presidential…