In Short
The Situation: In a Hatch-Waxman litigation, a
district court determined that the claims covering a method of
using the drug everolimus to treat kidney cancers were not obvious.
The court found a motivation to "pursue" everolimus, but
the defendant failed to show a motivation to "select"
everolimus over other treatment options.
The Result: On appeal, the Federal Circuit
faulted the district court for applying the "lead
compound" analysis and requiring a motivation to select
everolimus over other treatment options as a prerequisite for
obviousness. The Federal Circuit distinguished method-of-treatment
claims from compound claims to which the lead compound analysis
applies.
