In a decision by Honorable Judge Mr. Justice Kitchin, ratio pharma has successfully invalidated the patent (European Patent (UK) No 1 381 352) related to transdermal patch of fentanyl, assigned to Alza Corporation and exclusively licensed to Janssen Cilag Ltd.
Grounds of Invalidation:
i) Anticipation by:
a) International Patent Application WO 01/26705 A2 ("Samyang");
b) a 1996 article by Roy et al. ("Roy").
ii) Obviousness in the light of common general knowledge, Roy and the following further publications:
a) a 2000 conference poster by Yu et al. ("the Yu Poster").
b) a 2000 conference abstract by Yu et al. ("the Yu Abstract");
c) European Patent Application 0 913 158 A1 ("Permatec");
d) United States Patent 5 006 342 ("Cygnus");
e) European Patent Application 0 622 075 A1 ("Hercon").
iii) Insufficiency: The defendants contend the claims of the Patent are so uncertain it is not possible to determine their scope and they are therefore uninfringeable or insufficient. They also contend it requires undue experimentation to determine whether a product infringes. Both allegations depend upon the proper interpretation of the claims.
Conclusion: The Patent is anticipated by Comparative Example 2 of Samyang and is obvious over the common general knowledge, Roy, the Yu Poster and the Yu Abstract.
The whole Judgement can be read here.
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