In a case that had the pharmaceutical industry on edge, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that Amgen failed to disclose sufficient information about patent claims for a best-selling drug.
The court ruled unanimously that Amgen failed to provide what amounts to a roadmap for others to recreate the claims made in two patents for Repatha, a cholesterol medication. A federal appeals court had previously invalidated the patents after deciding that Amgen filed an overly expansive patent claim that did not disclose enough information so someone else can make the same product, or invention.
The case had its roots in a long-running battle between Amgen and two other drug companies — Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals — that market a rival cholesterol treatment. They argued the Amgen patent claims were so broad, and not adequately backed up with sufficient details, that they would be precluded from selling their own medication if the Amgen patents were allowed to stand.
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