The Pharma in Brief team is looking back at 2025’s most notable legal and regulatory developments in the Canadian pharmaceutical space and highlighting hot topics for 2026. To those who don’t make it to the end of the article, we’ll
PM(NOC) Regulations
Biosimilar drugs will no longer need phase 3 clinical trials: Proposed changes from Health Canada
Health Canada has proposed a substantial change to the regulation of biosimilar drugs in Canada that may result in earlier applications for marketing authorization and earlier litigation under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (PMNOC Regulations). Specifically…
Federal Court upholds patent validity and issues injunction and delivery up order against biosimilar
The Federal Court (FC) has upheld the validity of a patent concerning a biologic drug used to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare blood disorder, in an infringement action under section 6 of…
Pharma in Brief’s 2024 Year in Review and Trends for 2025
2024 saw no shortage of headlines in the Canadian pharma space. Here we look back on the year’s most notable legal and regulatory developments and look forward to areas to watch in 2025.
1. National pharmacare comes to Canada
In…
Federal Court declares patent ineligible for listing during PM(NOC) infringement action
The Federal Court (FC) has provided fresh guidance on applying the test for challenging patent-listing eligibility in an infringement action under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations). Granting the delisting motion before it, the…
Federal Court updates Guidelines for PMNOC proceedings
On November 28, 2024, the Federal Court updated its guidelines for proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (PMNOC Regulations) and other complex proceedings. While the changes are not extensive, they create some new obligations and…
Supreme Court of Canada grants leave to appeal methods of medical treatment patentability decision
On September 19, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada granted an application for leave to appeal in a case concerning the scope of patentable subject-matter in Canadian law, focusing on an area known as “methods of medical treatment” (MMT…
Federal Court addresses treatment and formulation patent claims in PMNOC case
The Federal Court (FC) has upheld the validity of a patent concerning treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and granted injunctive relief against the generic in an infringement action under section 6 of the Patented Medicines…
Federal Court of Appeal clarifies law on patentability of methods of medical treatment
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has held that in order to determine whether a patent claims an unpatentable method of medical treatment (MMT), it is necessary to determine whether the use of the invention requires…
Federal Court of Appeal clarifies scope of implied licence on sale of patented medicine
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has held that the sale of a single dose of a patented multi-dose regimen does not provide an implied license to use the entire patented dosing regimen. As a result, it is…