Pfizer Patent For Celebrex® Invalid For Double Patenting

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that a Pfizer patent covering Celebrex® was invalid for double patenting while affirming a lower court's decision that two other patents covering the blockbuster anti-inflammatory are valid, enforceable and infringed by the generic manufacturer's product. Pfizer, Inc. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Case No. 07-1271 (Fed. Cir., March 3, 2008) (Dyk, J.).

The decision arose out of Teva's appeal from a final judgment of a district court, entered after a bench trial, in favor of Pfizer. The district court held that Teva infringed three patents owned by Pfizer: the '823 patent, the '165 patent—covering the active ingredient and a pharmaceutical composition of Celebrex®—and the '068 patent, covering the use in the treatment of inflammation.