Christopher A. Guerreiro

Subscribe to all posts by Christopher A. Guerreiro

PMPRB Update: delayed implementation of Patented Medicines Regulations amendments and new Guidelines

Changes to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) regime, contained in pending amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations, have been delayed until January 1, 2022. These amendments form the basis for new PMPRB Guidelines, which are scheduled to come into force at the same time as the amendments. The amendments contain a number of … Continue reading

CSP Amendments to the PMPRB Regime: Jurisdiction of Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to Include Medicines Protected by Certificates of Supplementary Protection

By Corey McClary, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on June 22, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

A suite of amendments to the Patent Act and the Patented Medicines Regulations (the Regulations) will soon require holders of Certificates of Supplementary Protection (CSPs) to report information to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) on substantially the same terms and conditions as would be reported by patentees. Regulations amending the Regulations, which will … Continue reading

Federal Court quashes NOC in dispute over Data Protection Provisions

By William Chalmers, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on June 9, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has quashed a notice of compliance (NOC) issued to Médunik Canada (Médunik) for its amifampridine product, RUZURGI, over an issue concerning data protection for another amifampridine product. The Minister provided no reasons for its issuance of the NOC, and the Court found that the Certified Tribunal Record (CTR) outlining the decision-making process … Continue reading

PMPRB Update: New periods for compliance with the new Guidelines

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Kristin Wall on April 20, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The PMPRB has confirmed that patentees of “Grandfathered” and “Gap” medicines will have two reporting periods to comply with new price ceilings to be set under its new Guidelines, replacing previous guidance that only one reporting period would be permitted. Updates to the Guidelines As we reported, the Guidelines were released by the PMPRB on … Continue reading

Federal Court of Appeal provides guidance on the “inventive concept”

By Paul Jorgensen, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Mark Davis on March 23, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has held that the “inventive concept” can go beyond the essential elements of the claim and may include advantageous properties stated in the patent’s description. The FCA confirmed that the inventive concept is the end-point in the obviousness analysis: for a claimed invention to be obvious, the gap between … Continue reading

Bill C-213, An Act to enact the Canada Pharmacare Act: rejected by Parliament

By Sarah Pennington, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on March 1, 2021 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On February 24, 2021, Parliament voted down Bill C-213, which would have enacted the Canada Pharmacare Act. The Private Member’s Bill was first introduced a year ago, re-introduced in September 2020 after Parliament’s prorogation, and defeated at Second Reading. The Canada Pharmacare Act set out a series of criteria and conditions that would have been … Continue reading

Federal Court upholds patent validity and issues declarations of infringement against two generic apixaban tablets

By Fortunat Nadima Nadima, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Amy Grenon on February 3, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

In one of its first patent decisions of 2021, the Federal Court tackled arguments regarding the relevant date for insufficiency allegations and the level of disclosure required for demonstrated utility. The Court resolved these and other issues in the patentees’ favour, granting declarations of infringement against two proposed apixaban generics. Background ELIQUISTM (an blood thinner) … Continue reading

PM(NOC) Regulations do not preclude defendants from amending the statement of defence

By Shantelle LaFayette, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Brian R. Daley on January 26, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

A defendant in a patent infringement action under subsection 6(1) of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations was allowed to amend its defence to include invalidity allegations not found in the Notice of Allegation. Background In an action under subsection 6(1) of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (Regulations) concerning three patents, the … Continue reading

Pharma in Brief: The 2020 Year in Review

By Colin Hyslop, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on January 24, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

In this article, the Pharma in Brief team has curated and provided updates on the most significant topics we covered in 2020. Introduction The Canadian pharma and life sciences space saw many developments in 2020, despite and in some cases because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry was among the heroes of 2020, developing, commercializing … Continue reading

Divided success in PM(NOC) actions regarding glatiramer acetate

By Sarah Pennington, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Amy Grenon on January 17, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has decided two infringement actions concerning glatiramer acetate products under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court dismissed allegations of anticipation based upon “speculative” prior art and rejected an argument that there was insufficient disclosure to satisfy the test for sound prediction. However, the Court found one of … Continue reading

Prosecution history cannot be invoked against patent licensees

By Fortunat Nadima Nadima, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Brian R. Daley on January 10, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has found that prosecution history evidence is inadmissible to rebut representations made by a patent licensee (as opposed to the patentee) on claims construction. The Court also considered the issues of “essential elements”, infringement, and obviousness in the context of a formulation patent. Background The Court’s decision concerns Canadian Patent No. 2,507,002 … Continue reading

NOC issued after Federal Court overturns Minister’s decision on effective date of consent letter under the PM(NOC) Regulations

By Kassandra Shortt and Christopher A. Guerreiro on November 16, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On October 29, 2020, the Federal Court ordered the Minister of Health to immediately issue a notice of compliance (NOC) for a biosimilar drug following a dispute about the effective date of a consent letter under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court held the Minister acted unreasonably in refusing to … Continue reading

Federal Court issues new consolidated guidelines on complex proceedings

By Caroline Henrie, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on October 29, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property

On October 22, 2020, the Federal Court (FC) issued new Case and Trial Management Guidelines for Complex Proceedings (the FC Guidelines). These new consolidated FC Guidelines address many of the topics raised in the following earlier FC Notices to the Profession: Case management: Increased Proportionality in Complex Litigation before the Federal Court (June 24, 2015); … Continue reading

PMPRB Update: Final Guidelines Released

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Kristin Wall on October 25, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On Friday, October 23, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) released final Guidelines that are intended to take effect on January 1, 2021, together with the scheduled coming-into-force of amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations (the Amendments). According to the PMPRB: The Guidelines provide information on the PMPRB’s general approach to the price review … Continue reading

PMPRB takes jurisdiction over medicine (again) following Federal Court of Appeal remand

By Colin Hyslop, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on July 7, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB or Board) has found that a patent can pertain to a medicine based on clinical similarities to the invention—even if the patent does not actually encompass the medicine. Background This case concerns Canadian Patent No. 2,478,237 (the 237 Patent), which relates to the use of adapalene to treat … Continue reading

PMPRB launches consultation on revised Draft Guidelines

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Kristin Wall and Brian R. Daley on June 21, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On June 19, 2020, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) launched its consultation on revised Draft Guidelines to implement the amended Patented Medicines Regulations. The revised Guidelines outline new price tests for existing and new patented medicines, as well as a revised risk-based system for reporting and investigations. They will be available for public … Continue reading

PMPRB update: Amendments delayed, new Guidelines consultation announced, and judicial review heard

By Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on June 4, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

This week has seen a number of developments relating to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), including a six-month delay to the implementation of amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations and renewed consultation by the Board on revised Draft Guidelines to implement those amendments. Meanwhile, the Federal Court is now considering a judicial review … Continue reading

FCA gives guidance for common PM(NOC) trials involving multiple actions

By Fortunat Nadima Nadima, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Judith Robinson on May 25, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal has reversed the Federal Court’s decision to add two additional generic defendants (Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sandoz Canada Inc.) to an upcoming common trial under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. The common trial will determine patent validity issues in Bayer Inc.’s actions against Teva Canada limited and Apotex … Continue reading

“New NAFTA” to take effect July 1, 2020: USA completes domestic ratification of CUSMA

By Kassandra Shortt, Christopher A. Guerreiro, Kristin Wall and Judith Robinson on April 28, 2020 Posted in Uncategorized

Canada, the United States, and Mexico have each completed the domestic processes necessary to bring the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, also known as USMCA or New NAFTA) into effect. CUSMA will come into force on July 1, 2020, the first day of the third month after it was ratified by each member country. The United … Continue reading

Canada completes domestic ratification of CUSMA

By Kassandra Shortt, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on April 5, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Canada has completed domestic ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, also referred to as USMCA or new NAFTA). As we reported, Canada introduced Bill C-4 to implement CUSMA on January 29, 2020 and it received royal assent as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act (CUSMA Implementation Act) on March 13, 2020. No coming-into-force date … Continue reading

Ontario introduces formulary changes for generic drugs to mitigate risk of drug shortages

By John Greiss, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on March 31, 2020 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On March 30, 2020, the Ontario government launched two one-day consultations on changes to regulations concerning the listing of generic drug products under the Ontario Drug Benefit Act (ODBA) and the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act (DIDFA). These consultations end March 31, 2020. Both changes are said to be needed to help mitigate the … Continue reading

Bill C-4: New CUSMA Implementation Act Received Royal Assent

By Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on March 15, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On March 13, 2020, the Government passed Bill C-4 to implement the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Canada will be the third and final party to ratify the treaty. The Bill, sponsored by Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, was introduced on January 29, 2020. The Bill was recently expedited in order to ensure that it passed before … Continue reading

Bill C-4: New CUSMA Implementation Act Introduced

By Caroline Henrie, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on February 4, 2020 Posted in Uncategorized

On January 29, 2020, the Government introduced Bill C-4 to implement the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The Bill, sponsored by Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, was read for the first time the same day. As we reported, the previous Government’s CUSMA implementation bill (Bill C-100) died on the Order Paper as it was not passed into … Continue reading

Federal Court invalidates Health Canada’s decision to disclose records in response to ATI request

By Caroline Henrie and Christopher A. Guerreiro on January 30, 2020 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has invalidated Health Canada’s decision to disclose records pertaining to a veterinary pharmaceutical product, Fortekor Flavour Tabs (Fortekor), pursuant to the Access to Information Act (the Act). Health Canada defended its decision on the basis that the information contained in the records was “part of public domain information”. On judicial review, the … Continue reading