Myriad Genetics, USPTO File Summary Judgment Motions in Gene Patent Case
Two of the defendants in Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the frontal attack on Myriad Genetics’ breast cancer gene patents organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, have now filed their own summary judgment motions. (Click through to read the memorandum in support of Myriad Genetics’ motion (pdf) filed on December 23 and the memorandum in support of the PTO’s motion (pdf) filed on December 24). As we explained in an earlier post, a summary judgment motion seeks to convince the trial judge that the facts are so clear-cut that there is no reason to go ahead with the trial—in legal jargon, that there is “no issue of material fact” that needs to be tried. This is the rare case in which both sides have asked for summary judgment (the plaintiffs filed their motion and supporting memorandum (pdf) back on August 26). The filings by both sides are not a surprise here, however, since the facts surrounding the challenged patents are largely undisputed and the real question is how to apply patent law to those facts.
Follow-on Biologics: How Much Incentive Do We Need?
After almost a full year of debate, a pathway for approving “follow-on biologics” or “biosimilars” continues to be a hot topic in Congress. We are all familiar with generic versions of brand-name drugs, and the federal regulatory scheme sets out well-defined shortcut procedures for approval of generics. Congress is now grappling with designing procedures for approval of generic versions of biological drugs. Although follow-on biologics are in some ways similar to generic drugs, the differences are crucial, and in fact the regulatory scheme for generic drugs does not work at all for biologics. Congress has its work cut out for it.
Biologics 101. In short, here is the problem: typical pharmaceutical drugs (“small molecule drugs”) are chemically synthesized, and once the brand-name manufacturer’s exclusive patent rights expire, generic manufacturers are free to obtain approvals under abbreviated procedures, Generic manufacturers are generally not required to submit preclinical (animal) and clinical (human) data along with these Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs), thereby avoiding the huge expenses associated with developing new pharmaceuticals. But this route is only open to the generic manufacturer if it can prove that the generic version of the drug contains an identical replica of the drug’s active ingredient. Under the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve a generic version of a drug if the generic contains the same active ingredient as the original, shows bioequivalence to the original, and is demonstrated to be manufactured according to appropriate practices. Once these are shown, the generic is allowed to piggyback on the designation of the original drug as safe and effective.
Biotech Patents under Attack from Two More Angles
Two developments this month have underscored the breadth of dissatisfaction with the current state of biotechnology patenting, even as the court weighs a summary judgment motion in the pending ACLU-sponsored litigation against Myriad Genetics’ breast cancer gene patents. First, on October 2, 2009, the American Medical Association and four other medical organizations interested in genetic medicine filed an amicus brief in Bilski v. Kappos, which is now before the Supreme Court. In a decision in Bilski late last year, the Federal Circuit rejected a patent on a method of hedging in a commodities market because it was a nontransformative process consisting solely of mental steps. The Federal Circuit promulgated what has come to be known as the machine-or-transformation test, which limits patentable subject matter to processes that are either tied to a particular machine or transform the state of matter. The test has been attacked by various biotechnology and pharmaceutical interests because of its perceived limiting effect on patenting diagnostic techniques and tests.
