On February 10, hedge fund Hayman Credes Master Fund, L.P., under the name Coalition For Affordable Drugs (ADROCA) LLC, filed a petition for Inter Partes Review (IPR2015-00720) against U.S. Pat. No. 8,663,685 for the drug AMPYRA (dalfampridine) owned by Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. This is the first petition by a hedge fund against a drug patent. In January, Kyle Bass, the manager and principal of the hedge fund, announced that he would lower drug prices by challenging drug patents using IPR proceedings. While he couched this as a strategy “to lower drug prices for Medicare and for everyone,” some have viewed this as an attempt for him to profit through combining an Inter Partes Review and a short position on a drug company’s stock. The stock value of Acorda Therapeutics closed down 9 percent by the end of the day, Feb. 10.
