On April 11, the FCA dismissed Bristol-Myers Squibb's appeal of the decision dismissing its prohibition application against Teva for atazanavir sulfate (Bristol-Myers Squibb's REYATAZ): Bristol-Myers Squibb v Teva, 2017 FCA 76. While the Court of Appeal held that the Federal Court erred in its identification of the inventive concept, it upheld the finding that the patent was obvious. The Court of Appeal held that the "inventive concept" was not "materially different" from "the solution taught by the patent", which on the facts, was "atazanavir bisulfate, a salt of atazanavir which is pharmaceutically acceptable because it has equal or better bioavailability than the atazanavir free base." The FCA commented further on inventive concept in its November 17 decision, Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments v SNF, 2017 FCA 225.
The preceding is intended as a timely update on Canadian intellectual property and technology law. The content is informational only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. To obtain such advice, please communicate with our offices directly.
