03/17/2017 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the asserted claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,926,953 based on collateral estoppel, following appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. In the litigation, Allergan, Inc. sought to prevent marketing of a generic equivalent to Latisse® (Bimatoprost) Topical Solution, 0.03% by a number of ANDA filers, including Apotex Inc. The District Court concluded that the asserted claims of the ‘953 patent presented the identical invalidity issue already determined when the Federal Circuit and District Court held related patents invalid, including U.S. Patent Nos. 7,351,404, 8,263,054, 9,038,988, and 8,101,161; and the District Court dismissed Allergan’s claims against Apotex with respect to the ‘953 patent on collateral estoppel grounds. In the Opinion and Judgment issued today, the Federal Circuit affirmed that decision in parts relevant to Apotex.
RMMS attorneys William A. Rakoczy, Deanne M. Mazzochi, and Joseph T. Jaros appeared on behalf of Apotex.
This victory continues to place RMMS at the forefront of generic challenges to brand pharmaceutical patents.