Topic: Intellectual property

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New Proposed Amendments to the Federal Courts Rules: Proportionality, Abuse of Process, and Motions Before the Federal Court of Appeal

By Morgan Westgate on April 20, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property

On April 10, 2021, the Rules Committee of the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court (the Rules Committee) launched a consultation on amendments to the Federal Courts Rules (the Rules) on proportionality, abuse of process, and Federal Court of Appeal motions. In the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS), the Committee has stated these … 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

Food and Drug Regulations amended: COVID-19 drugs and vaccines transitioned out of interim order framework

By John Greiss, Sarah Pennington and Kristin Wall on April 13, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) have been amended to allow for continued expedited review of COVID-19 drugs (including vaccines) while transitioning to authorizations by way of a full notice of compliance (NOC) under the FDR. Certain provisions of the amendments came into force on March 18, 2021, while others will come into force 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

Ontario Superior Court summarily dismisses Apotex’s novel monetary claims under Statutes of Monopolies, Trademarks Act, and at common law

By Morgan Westgate, David Yi and Allyson Whyte Nowak on March 18, 2021 Posted in Damages, Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On March 8, 2021, the Ontario Superior Court granted summary judgment dismissing novel claims by Apotex under the UK and Ontario Statutes of Monopolies, the Trademarks Act, and at common law. It is the first decision on the merits of Apotex’s novel claims and arises in the context of litigation relating to Eli Lilly’s patented … Continue reading

Federal Court of Appeal upholds one of the last prohibition orders under the old PM(NOC) Regulations

By Sarah Pennington, David Yi and Kristin Wall on March 9, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal has affirmed one of the last judgments granting a prohibition order under subsection 6(1) of the pre-September 2017 Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the PM(NOC) Regulations). The Court of Appeal upheld the prohibition order despite a decision in a subsequent action under the amended PM(NOC) Regulations finding that the … Continue reading

Federal Court finds 45-day limitation period does not apply to s 8.2 PM(NOC) related rights of action for unlisted patents

By Pardeep Heir, Paul Jorgensen and Kristin Wall on March 2, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Summary The Federal Court has held that the “related right of action” for infringement of unlisted patents under section 8.2 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (Regulations) is not subject to the 45-day limitation period familiar to patentees asserting infringement of listed patents under subsection 6(1). Background Merck Canada Inc. and Merck Sharp … 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

Federal Court updates guidance on COVID-19

By Caroline Henrie and Brian R. Daley on January 20, 2021 Posted in Intellectual property

On January 18, 2021, the Federal Court (FC) issued its latest COVID-19 Practice Direction, which supersedes all its prior COVID-19 practice directions. The FC’s facilities in Ontario and Quebec have been closed in light of the recent public health measures to combat the pandemic. The FC will continue its operations remotely in these two provinces … 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

Federal Court of Appeal Upholds First Trial Judgment under New PM(NOC) Regulations

By Orestes Pasparakis, Mark Davis, Daniel Daniele, Paul Jorgensen and Kassandra Shortt on November 18, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the first trial judgment under the new Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. In Amgen Inc v Pfizer Canada ULC, 2020 FCA 188, the Court dismissed Amgen’s appeal from the Federal Court’s decision declaring certain claims in Amgen’s Canadian Patent No. 1,341,537 (537 Patent) invalid for obviousness. The … 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

Finality, finally: Adir and Servier Canada Inc. confirm their perindopril win

By Judith Robinson and Joanne Chriqui on November 1, 2020 Posted in Damages, Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The 14 year perindopril litigation in Canada is over, with Adir and Servier Canada Inc. (collectively “Servier”) emerging victorious against Apotex Inc. and Apotex Pharmachem Inc. (collectively “Apotex”). The end was marked by the Supreme Court of Canada’s dismissal of Apotex’s application for leave to appeal a decision requiring it to disgorge its profits associated … 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

Overview of IP Law In Canada – The Intellectual Property Review, 9th Edition

By Caroline Henrie, Adam Haller and Kristin Wall on October 7, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The recently published Ninth Edition of the Intellectual Property Review (the Review) includes a chapter detailing the various forms of IP protection available in Canada, and highlights important changes in Canadian IP law over the past year. The chapter was authored by members of the Pharma in Brief team. The chapter also provides an overview … Continue reading

Federal Court finds Minister’s CSP decision unreasonable on patent eligibility for fixed-dose combination drug product

By Morgan Westgate and Kristin Wall on July 28, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On July 10, 2020, the Federal Court issued a decision in a judicial review under the Certificate of Supplementary Protection Regulations (CSP Regulations). The application was brought by ViiV Healthcare ULC (ViiV) regarding a decision by the Minister of Health (Minister) refusing to issue a CSP in respect of Canadian Patent No. 2,606,282 (282 Patent) … 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

Federal Court lifts Suspension Period

By Allyson Whyte Nowak, Judith Robinson and Brian R. Daley on July 1, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property

On June 25, 2020, the Federal Court (FC) issued its latest Practice Direction and Order (FC Update) regarding Court operations during the pandemic, announcing that its Suspension Period will no longer be in force anywhere in Canada as of June 30, 2020. The FC Update also establishes guidelines for the transition toward more regular operations … 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

Federal Court determines that infringement action under PM(NOC) Regulations is not moot where trial proceeds after patent expiry

By Morgan Westgate, David Yi and Amy Grenon on June 8, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On May 22, 2020, the Federal Court granted a motion seeking an order that the issue of infringement in an action brought pursuant to section 6 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (Regulations) would not be moot notwithstanding that the trial was set to proceed after the expiry of the relevant patent. Background … Continue reading