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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Federal Circuit Upholds Eisai’s Patent For Aciphex

WASHINGTON (DC) - Dr. Reddy's Laboratories violated Eisai Inc.'s patent by introducing a generic version of the gastric-acid inhibitor Aciphex, the Federal Circuit ruled.

Judge Rader affirmed the decision of a federal judge in New York, upholding Eisai's patent in its infringement case against Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.

Eisai's Aciphex is a proton-pump inhibitor that reduces gastric-acid production. The company sells $1 billion of the drug yearly worldwide.

Eisai filed suit after Dr. Reddy's filed an application to produce a generic version of the drug.

Rader ruled that the key to analyzing the two drugs is the identification of a lead compound that is common to both drugs.

The judge stated that Dr. Reddy's did not offer enough evidence to survive the summary judgment in Eisai's favor in district court.

"(Defendants) cannot create a genuine issue of material fact on obviousness through the unsupported assertion that compounds other than lansoprazole might have served as lead compounds," Rader wrote.

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