Patent Law

Michael F. Kelleher of Folger Levin & Kahn LLP, writing for the IP Law Observer blog on October 15, 2008 about the In Re Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation (Fed. Cir. No. 2008-1097) case, states:

The One Sentence Summary: Payments by a drug manufacturer to end patent invalidity claims did not violate antitrust laws because the anticompetitive effect was within the exclusionary scope of the patent.

What They Were Fighting About: Bayer had settled patent infringement claims against generic drug manufacturers with "reverse payments." The generic manufacturers had filed ANDA statements of intent to manufacture and challenged the validity of Bayer's patent for Ciprofloxacin (Cipro). The settlement agreements provided that Bayer would pay the generic manufacturers to dismiss their challenges to the patent and would supply Cipro for sale on the generic market. Plaintiffs sued Bayer and the generic defendants for federal and state antitrust violations. The district court ruled against plaintiffs on motions for dismissal and summary judgment, and plaintiffs appealed.

Read the full post here.