The Federal Circuit recently held a generic drug developer
lacked Article III standing to appeal an adverse patentability
determination by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) because
it failed to prove that it suffered an injury in fact necessary to
establish standing.
Apotex filed a petition for an inter partes review (IPR)
challenging the validity of Novartis' U.S. Patent 9,187,405
(the '405 Patent), which generally covers methods for treating
relapsing multiple sclerosis. The Board instituted proceedings and
subsequently joined several other generic companies as petitioners
to the proceeding, including Argentum. At the conclusion of the
IPR, the Board held that the petitioners failed to show the claims
were unpatentable and the petitioners appealed. Before the opening
briefs were filed in the appeal, Novartis settled with all of the
petitioners except Argentum. Novartis then filed a motion to
dismiss the appeal on the basis that Argentum, the only