Restasis Patents are Invalidated by a Federal Court

A U.S. Circuit Court judge has issued a 136-page ruling that effectively invalidates four key patents for Allergan's blockbuster drug, Restasis. You may recall that Allergan tried to protect their patents from administrative review by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by transferring the patents to a Native American tribe (see this blog, Sept. ). The Circuit Court decision is independent of review by the Patent and Trademark Office, but experts agree that U.S. Circuit Court decisions generally take precedence over administrative review by the Patent and Trademark Office. In effect, Allergan's attempt to protect its drug patents by transferring them to a Native American tribe is, at the moment, a non-starter.

In his ruling Judge William Bryson wrote, "The court has concerns about the legitimacy of the tactic that Allergan and the tribe have employed" (to protect Allergan's patents). An Allergan representative would only say, "We are carefully reviewing the decision and are considering all options", according to an article in Business Insider. This story may not be over yet.