Court Report

    By Sherri Oslick --

About Court Report:  Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases, and a few interesting cases will be selected for periodic monitoring.

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP et al. v. Handa Pharmaceuticals, LLC et al.
3:08-cv-05328; filed October 28, 2008 in the District Court of New Jersey

Infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,879,288 ("Novel Dibenzothiazepine Antipsychotic," issued November 7, 1989) and 5,948,437 ("Pharmaceutical Compositions Using Thiazepine," issued September 7, 1999) following a Paragraph IV certification as part of defendants' filing of an amendment of their ANDA (adding an additional dosage form) to manufacture a generic version of AstraZeneca's Seroquel® XR (quetiapine fumarate, used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder).  View the complaint here.

Genentech, Inc. et al. v. Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH et al.
4:08-cv-04909; filed October 27, 2008 in the Northern District of California

Declaratory judgment of invalidity and non-infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,849,522 ("Enhancer for Eukaryotic Expression Systems," issued December 15, 1998) and 6,218,140 (same title, issued April 17, 2001) based on Genetech's manufacture and sale of its Activase® (alterplase, used to treat acute myocardial infarction, acute ischemic stroke, and acute, massive pulmonary embolism), Avaistin® (bevacizumab, used to treat colon, lung, and breast cancer), Cathflo Activase® (alteplase, used for the restoration of function to central venous access devices), Herceptin® (trastuzumab, used to treat breast cancer), Pulmozyme® (dornase alfa, recombinant, used in the management of cystic fibrosis), Raptiva® (efalizumab, used to treat psoriasis), Rituxan® (rituximab, used for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis), TNKase® (tenecteplase, used to treat myocardial infarction), and Xolair® (omalizumab, used to treat asthma).  View the complaint here.

Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH v. Genentech, Inc. et al.
9:08-cv-00203; filed October 26, 2008 in the Eastern District of Texas

Infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,849,522 ("Enhancer for Eukaryotic Expression Systems," issued December 15, 1998) and 6,218,140 (same title, issued April 17, 2001) based on Genetech's manufacture and sale of its Activase® (alterplase, used to treat acute myocardial infarction, acute ischemic stroke, and acute, massive pulmonary embolism), Avaistin® (bevacizumab, used to treat colon, lung, and breast cancer), Cathflo Activase® (alteplase, used for the restoration of function to central venous access devices), Herceptin® (trastuzumab, used to treat breast cancer), Pulmozyme® (dornase alfa, recombinant, used in the management of cystic fibrosis), Raptiva® (efalizumab, used to treat psoriasis), Rituxan® (rituximab, used for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis), TNKase® (tenecteplase, used to treat myocardial infarction), and Xolair® (omalizumab, used to treat asthma).  View the complaint here.

Watson Laboratories Inc. v. Barr Laboratories Inc. et al.
1:08-cv-00793; filed October 23, 2008 in the District Court of Delaware

Infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,601,839 ("Triacetin as a Penetration Enhancer for Transdermal Delivery of a Basic Drug," issued February 11, 1997), 5,834,010 (same title, issued November 10, 1998), 6,743,441 ("Compositions and Methods for Minimizing Adverse Drug Experiences Associated with Oxybutynin Therapy," issued June 1, 2004), 7,081,249 (same title, issued July 25, 2006), 7,081,250 (same title, issued July 25, 2006), 7,081,251 (same title, issued July 25, 2006), 7,081,252 (same title, issued July 25, 2006), and 7,179,483 ("Compositions and Methods for Transdermal Oxybutynin Therapy," issued February 20, 2007) following a Paragraph IV certification as part of Barr's filing of an ANDA to manufacture a generic version of Watson's Oxytrol® (transdermal oxybutynin, used for the treatment of overactive bladder).  View the complaint here.