Topic: Intellectual property

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Federal Court finds generic would induce infringement of combination therapy patent

The Federal Court has allowed a second infringement action concerning a macitentan product under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court found that the defendant would induce infringement of claims relating to combination treatment if it were allowed to market its macitentan product. Background Janssen Inc. markets OPSUMIT® (macitentan) to treat patients … Continue reading

Federal Court finds a combination therapy patent valid and infringed

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Kristin Wall and Pharma in Brief team on June 14, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has allowed an infringement action concerning a macitentan product under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court dismissed allegations that the asserted patent claims were invalid for obviousness, lack of utility, overbreadth, and insufficiency of disclosure. Background Janssen Inc. (Janssen) markets OPSUMIT® in Canada for the treatment of pulmonary arterial … Continue reading

Overview of IP Law in Canada – The Intellectual Property Review, 11th Edition

By Caroline Henrie and Kristin Wall on May 18, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property

The recently published Eleventh Edition of the Intellectual Property Review (the Review) includes a Canadian chapter. Readers are invited to learn more on the various forms of IP protection available in Canada, and highlights of important changes in Canadian IP law over the past year. The chapter was authored by members of the Pharma in Brief team. The chapter … Continue reading

Federal Court finds salt patent valid in a PM(NOC) action regarding sitagliptin

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Pharma in Brief team on April 19, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has allowed an infringement action concerning sitagliptin phosphate monohydrate products under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court dismissed allegations of obviousness and insufficiency, and it found the asserted claims to be valid and infringed. In reaching its decision, the Court provided substantive guidance on hearsay evidence in infringement … Continue reading

Federal Court sends NOC dispute concerning data protection provisions back to the Minister for a second redetermination

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Kristin Wall and Pharma in Brief team on March 23, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court (FC) has granted an application for judicial review involving the data protection provisions in section C.08.004.1 of the Food and Drug Regulations in a case involving new drug submissions (NDSs) for two different amifampridine products. This is the second time that the FC has set aside a decision to issue a notice … Continue reading

Federal Court rejects motion for summary judgment in Canadian patent infringement case following voluntary dismissal of parallel US litigation

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Pharma in Brief team on March 17, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property

In a recently released decision, the Federal Court (FC) considered what happens when a patent infringement plaintiff agrees to resolve a dispute in a foreign jurisdiction, but continues to press parallel litigation against the same defendant in Canada. In this case, the defendant sought summary judgment based on the terms of a voluntary dismissal between the … Continue reading

Federal Court finds patent valid, but rejects infringement claims in a PM(NOC) action regarding risedronate

By Sarah Pennington, Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on March 9, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has decided an infringement action concerning risedronate products under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court dismissed allegations of anticipation based on prior art, as well as arguments that the asserted claims were invalid due to lack of demonstrated utility, insufficiency of disclosure, and/or overbreadth. However, the Court … Continue reading

Federal Court finds inducement of infringement at summary trial under the PM(NOC) Regulations

By Brian R. Daley on January 26, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has confirmed that issues of infringement, including by inducement, may be decided by summary trial in an infringement action under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). The Court rejected the Defendant’s attempt to avoid infringement based on the scope of its abbreviated new drug submission and product monograph (PM). … Continue reading

FCA upholds patent validity, rejects argument that a soundly predicted invention must be obvious

By Sarah Pennington, Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Kristin Wall on January 10, 2022 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has affirmed a decision of the Federal Court (FC) finding that a patent concerning glatiramer acetate (GA) is valid and would be infringed under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. Background As we previously reported, the FC decision concerned allegations by Teva Canada Innovation and Teva Canada Limited … Continue reading

Pharma in Brief: The 2021 Year in Review

By Kristin Wall, William Chalmers, Christopher A. Guerreiro and David Yi on January 9, 2022 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 2021. Introduction In 2021, governments advanced major policy initiatives aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic and broader health priorities. These policy initiatives included reforms to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), the Patented Medicines … Continue reading

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

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Kristin Wall on December 23, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Changes to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) regime, contained in pending amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations, have been delayed until July 1, 2022. These amendments form the basis for new PMPRB Guidelines. The PMPRB has updated its website to indicate that the new Guidelines will be in place as of the coming-into-force … Continue reading

PMPRB will not proceed with proposed July 15, 2021 changes to its new Guidelines

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

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) has announced that it will not proceed with changes to its new Guidelines that were proposed in a July 15, 2021 Notice and Comment. As we reported, these changes would have affected the definition of “Gap” medicine, references to the PMPRB11 basket of comparator countries, and the price … Continue reading

Federal Court finds Minister of Health’s refusal to grant CSP based on the “Timely Submission Requirement” unreasonable

By Kristin Wall and Pharma in Brief team on October 20, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences, Uncategorized

SUMMARY The Federal Court has granted Merck Canada Inc.’s (Merck) application for judicial review of a decision of the Minister of Health (Minister) denying a Certificate of Supplementary Protection (CSP) for Canadian Patent No. 2,670,892 (892 Patent) and the drug BELSOMRA (suvorexant). BACKGROUND A CSP provides patent-like rights and is intended to compensate patentees for … Continue reading

Canada seeks leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in PMPRB excessive-pricing case

By Kristin Wall and Christopher A. Guerreiro on October 7, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Attorney General of Canada has sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in an excessive-pricing case regarding the drug SOLIRIS. As we reported, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. was successful before the Federal Court of Appeal in an application for judicial review of a 2017 PMPRB decision finding that Alexion had sold SOLIRIS at an … Continue reading

ONSC dismisses Apotex’s second monopolies action

By Orestes Pasparakis, Daniel Daniele and David Yi on October 6, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released the second decision in a series of summary judgment motions relating to Apotex’s claims against innovative drug companies under various causes of action pursued above and beyond the section 8 damages regime in the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. In Apotex Inc. v. Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, … Continue reading

PMPRB excessive price decision quashed by Federal Court of Appeal

By Christopher A. Guerreiro and Kristin Wall on August 3, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal has quashed an excessive-price decision of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) in a proceeding concerning the drug SOLIRIS. The matter has been remitted to the PMPRB for redetermination. Procedural background The PMPRB issued a decision in 2017 finding that Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. sold SOLIRIS (eculizumab) at an excessive … Continue reading

PMPRB Guidelines update: consultation on changes re delayed implementation

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Kristin Wall on July 25, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to its new Guidelines (the New Guidelines). These changes include revisions to the price tests for some medicines marketed prior to the anticipated coming-into-force date of the New Guidelines. The PMPRB has indicated that these changes are intended to account for … Continue reading

Consultation on proposed amendments to Patent Rules

By Anna Wilkinson, Christian Cawthorn and Tom Sutherland on July 18, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property

The Government of Canada has proposed a series of amendments to the Patent Rules intended to keep Canada compliant with its obligations under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). As part of the proposal, the Canada Gazette published a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement on July 3, 2021, summarizing the changes and their anticipated impact. Interested persons have … Continue reading

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

By Christopher A. Guerreiro, Brian R. Daley and Kristin Wall on July 7, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

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

Generic allowed to plead new grounds of invalidity not raised in the Notice of Allegation

By Brian R. Daley and Pharma in Brief team on July 5, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has confirmed that in an infringement action under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, the “second person” (i.e., generic/biosimilar) is not precluded from pleading invalidity allegations in its Statement of Defence beyond those that were raised in its notice of allegation (NOA). While new allegations may not be … 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 Christopher A. Guerreiro, Kristin Wall and Pharma in Brief team 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 of Appeal Gradually Phases Out Suspension Period

By Allyson Whyte Nowak, Kristin Wall and Brian R. Daley on June 22, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property

The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has begun to gradually restore filing deadlines in appeals before the Court that were subject to the Court’s Suspension Period. Under the Suspension Period system, the progress of individual appeals has been managed by “selecting” and “deselecting” them from a Selected Files list. As we previously reported, the FCA … 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

Federal Court Issues Consolidated IP Guidelines

By Caroline Henrie and Kristin Wall on May 26, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property

On May 18, 2021, the Federal Court (FC) issued amended Case and Trial Management Guidelines for Complex Proceedings (the Updated FC Guidelines). As we previously reported, the FC first issued the FC Guidelines to consolidate and address topics in earlier FC Notices to the Profession. Notable amendments: The Updated FC Guidelines include the following notable … Continue reading