Update: Expanded Federal Funding for Research and Innovation

By David Yi and Jordana Sanft on April 26, 2020 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

As we reported in March, the Federal Government pledged $275 million to research relating to COVID-19. On April 23, 2020, an additional $1.1 billion in funding was announced and includes funding for:

Research and Data:
- $114.9 million for research to accelerate the development, testing, and implementation of medical and social countermeasures to COVID-19. This will be provided through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
- $40 million for the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network for COVID-19 viral and host genome sequencing research.
- $10 million to improve data monitoring coordination of pandemic-related data across the country.
Vaccine Development:
- $600 million to support

Governmental Use of Patented Inventions during a Pandemic: A Global Survey

By Jordana Sanft, Chelsea Nimmo and Colin Hyslop on April 22, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property

Key Contacts: Jordana Sanft (Toronto), Jeffrey Lewis (New York), Jenny Shum (New York), Clemens Rubel (Munich), Seiko Hidaka (London), Justin Davidson (Hong Kong SAR), Jackie O’Brien (Sydney)

Around the globe, pharmaceutical and medical device companies are helping in the fight of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these companies may have patents pertaining to technology that could be used for the benefit of the broader public during this time of crisis, such as patents on ventilators, diagnostic tests, pharmaceuticals or personal protective equipment. Governments around the globe have mechanisms in place that can mandate the use of patented inventions during a … Continue Reading

No leave required for experimental testing conducted prior to litigation

By William Chalmers and Amy Grenon on April 22, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property

The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has decided that the Federal Court’s Notice to the Profession regarding experimental testing (the Notice) does not apply to testing conducted in advance of litigation. As a result, parties wishing to lead evidence of pre-litigation testing at trial are not required to obtain leave of the Court.

Background

This decision was rendered in the context of actions for patent infringement under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. Bayer Inc. and Bayer Intellectual Property GMBH (Bayer) initiated actions against Apotex Inc. (Apotex) and Teva Canada Limited (… Continue Reading

First trial judgment under new PMNOC Regulations declares claims to biologic drug invalid

By Orestes Pasparakis, Paul Jorgensen, Kassandra Shortt, Daniel Daniele and Mark Davis on April 21, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

The Federal Court has released its first trial judgment in an action brought under the new Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. In Amgen Inc v Pfizer Canada ULC, 2020 FC 522, the Court dismissed Amgen’s action and declared certain claims in Canadian Patent No. 1,341,537 (537 Patent) invalid for obviousness. The action related to Pfizer’s filgrastim biosimilar.

Under the new Regulations, which came into force in September 2017, a full action determines the question of whether the marketing of a generic or biosimilar drug would infringe any valid claims of any patents listed … Continue Reading

FCA to select cases that are ready to progress during pandemic

By Jordana Sanft, Allyson Whyte Nowak, Judith Robinson and Brian R. Daley on April 19, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property

On April 15, 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) published an updated Notice to the Parties and the Profession (FCA Update). As we previously reported, the FCA suspended the running of time under the Federal Courts Rules (the Rules) to May 15, 2020 (the Suspension Period).

The FCA Update advises that circumstances permit the FCA to exempt some cases from its previous notices, allowing them to progress towards a determination on the merits. The FCA will review the list of cases and based on the nature, complexity, and the extent to which … Continue Reading

Health Canada releases Guidance Document addressing the Plain Language Labelling Regulations requirements for non-prescription drug products

By Sarah Pennington, John Greiss and Randy Sutton on April 15, 2020 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Health Canada recently published a new Guidance Document that provides information on how Health Canada interprets and applies the 2014 Regulations Amending the Food and Drug Regulations (Labelling, Packaging and Brand Names of Drugs for Human Use) (colloquially known as the Plain Language Labelling Regulations or PLL Regulations) for non-prescription (i.e. over-the-counter or OTC) drug products.

The Guidance Document, entitled Questions and Answers: Plain Language Labelling Regulations for Non-prescription Drugs (the Guidance Document), is effective as of April 1, 2020. It identifies information that will support requirements mandated under the PLL Regulations, and points to other FAQs, … Continue Reading

Health Canada issues Interim Order to address shortages of health products

By John Greiss, Randy Sutton and Brian R. Daley on April 13, 2020 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Health Canada has published an Interim Order Respecting Drugs, Medical Devices and Foods for a Special Dietary Purpose in Relation to COVID-19 (the Interim Order). This Interim Order allows Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to address critical supply issues in an expedited manner when shortages occur. It was signed by the Minister on March 30, 2020.

The Interim Order allows the Minister to permit the exceptional importation and sale of: (1) drugs, including biocide drugs (such as hand sanitizers and disinfectants) but not natural health products (NHPs); (2) medical devices; and (3) foods for … Continue Reading

Quebec maintains drug evaluation activities for listing purposes and launches clinical trials

By Fortunat Nadima Nadima, Veronique Barry and Olga Farman on April 13, 2020 Posted in Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

In this post, the Pharma in Brief team reports on two recent developments in the Quebec regulatory landscape related to the COVID-19 crisis.

Adjustments to submission procedure for applications for listing of innovative drugs and blood products on formulary

On April 6, 2020, Quebec’s Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) issued a notice to drug manufacturers and blood system product manufacturers describing temporary measures implemented recently to avoid processing backlogs for applications for listing on Quebec’s formulary during the COVID-19 crisis. As of March 30, 2020, manufacturers of innovative drugs or blood products can … Continue Reading

Federal Court issues first decision on patent term restoration – Minister’s decision denying certificate of supplementary protection (CSP) is unreasonable

By Morgan Westgate, David Yi and Kristin Wall on April 8, 2020 Posted in Intellectual property, Life sciences and healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

On April 7, 2020, the Federal Court issued a decision in Canada’s first judicial review under the Patent Act and new Certificate of Supplementary Protection Regulations (CSP Regulations). It is the first decision issued under this regime, and also one of the first decisions to apply the Supreme Court of Canada’s new standard of review framework set out in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65 (Vavilov).

The judicial review application was brought by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (GSK) in respect of an August 3, 2018 decision (Decision) … 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 for CUSMA has been set. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stated: “The Canadian government will continue to work with the United States and Mexican governments to determine an ‘entry into force’ date that is mutually beneficial” and that she … Continue Reading