Intellectual Property Weekly Abstracts Alert - (Week Of May 23, 2011)

Edited by Chantal Saunders and Beverley Moore

NOC Proceedings

Prohibition Granted re: Compound Patent
Pfizer v. Mylan
Drug: donepezil

The Federal Court granted prohibition to Pfizer in respect of Mylan's Notice of Allegation (NOA) that the patent for the drug in question was invalid. The claims at issue related to the chemical compound and a therapeutic composition for treating senile dementia comprising the chemical compound. Mylan challenged the patent on grounds of utility, promise and a lack of sound prediction and these allegations were found to be not justified.

In its Memorandum of Fact and Law, Mylan also alleged that some of the testing and data as repeated in the patent was inaccurate. The Court found that the evidence as to what took place at Eisai was very difficult to follow, however, it need not be considered in the context of this proceeding as it was not an allegation made by Mylan in its NOA.