On December 13, Baxter International Inc. (“Baxter”) announced the completion of one of the biggest medtech acquisitions of 2021, acquiring Hillrom (a global medical equipment maker headquartered in Chicago) for a purchase price of ~$10.5 billion. The deal had originally been announced by Baxter in September 2021.
(December 13, 2021) Two pharmaceutical companies have issued recalls in December due to manufacturing issues that may impact the safety and quality of their drug products.
On November 16, 2021, Miramax, LLC (“Miramax”) brought claims of breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition against director Quentin Tarantino. A copy of the complaint can be found here. Miramax alleges that Tarantino planned to auction off Pulp Fiction Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFT”) comprised of “seven uncut Pulp Fiction Scenes” which include “scans of some pages of the Pulp Fiction script.” For example, the website for the NFT sales states that a digital version of the film’s iconic “Royale with Cheese” scene will also be up for auction. These Pulp Fiction NFTs allegedly hold “previously unknown secrets of [] specific iconic scene[s]” from the movie. The recent explosive demand for NFTs – tokens using distributed ledger technologies (e.g., Ethereum) used to represent ownership of unique items- has caused artists, creators and intellectual property holders to consider monetizing their digital options.
On December 1, 2021, RefleXion Medical, Inc. (“RefleXion”), announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted the company breakthrough device designation for its biology-guided radiotherapy (“BgRT”) for lung tumors.
TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC., v. CORCEPT THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Before Moore, Newman, and Reyna. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: Limitations, such as specific drug doses, in claim language can impact the application of the reasonable expectation of success analysis for obviousness.
ASTRAZENECA AB v. MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
Before: Taranto, Hughes, and Stoll
Summary: For purposes of claim construction, intrinsic evidence can trump the plain and ordinary meaning of scientific conventions such as significant figures.
Johnson & Johnson announced on November 12, 2021, that it is planning to separate its Consumer Health Business and create a new publicly traded Consumer Health Company. The press release states that the planned separation is expected to provide enhanced operational performance, drive growth, and unlock significant value.
BIOGEN INTERNATIONAL GMBH V. MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC.
Before O’Malley, Reyna, and Hughes. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Summary: A specification may not describe “possession” of an invention in satisfaction of the § 112 written description requirement even though the specification lists dosage ranges encompassing the claimed limitation.
MODERNATX, INC. v. ARBUTUS BIOPHARMA CORPORATION
Before Lourie, O’Malley, and Stoll. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: Sublicensee’s theory of royalty-based injury was too speculative to support standing on appeal. Later changes in factual basis cannot support standing where the original basis for standing is not shown to be continuous.
MODERNATX, INC. v. ARBUTUS BIOPHARMA CORPORATION
Before Lourie, O’Malley and Stoll. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: A presumption of obviousness based on overlapping ranges requires showing that the overlapping range is actually taught by the prior art.
