Federal Circuit Skips the Mayo in Upholding Vanda’s Fanapt® Patent

Patent Eligible, Section 101

A divided Federal Circuit panel upheld Vanda’s patent covering its iloperidone schizophrenia treatment (Fanapt®), holding the method of treatment claims were directed to patent-eligible subject matter.  Vanda Pharms. Inc., et al. v. West-Ward Pharms. Int’l Ltd., et al., Nos. 2016-2707, 2016-2708 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 13, 2018).  In meticulously evading the Supreme Court’s Mayo decision, Vanda…

Different Outcomes for IPR Challenges to the Same Patents Reveal Common-Sense Strategies for Improving Institution Rates

35 U.S.C. 325(d), Inter partes review

Two recent sets of decisions at the PTAB provide guidance on how to increase the likelihood of a petition being successful at instituting an IPR. The first set of decisions relate to the erectile dysfunction (ED) drug tadalafil (CIALIS®).  In IPR2017-00323, Mylan successfully petitioned for an IPR against ICOS’s U.S. Patent No. 6,943,166, which claims,…