Generic Drugmakers Denied Rehearing on Validity of Vimpat Patent

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Friday denied a request by generic drugmakers for a rehearing to challenge an epilepsy drug patent’s validity.

In May, the court upheld the validity of Belgium-based UCB BioPharma’s patent for Vimpat (lacosamide), blocking an attempt by the other drug companies (including Mylan, Sun Pharma, Accord Healthcare, and Alembic Pharmaceuticals) to produce generic versions before the patent expires in 2022.

The court nixed their requests for both a panel rehearing and a rehearing en banc without comment. The companies had argued that UCB’s patent — referred to in court documents as the ‘551 patent — was actually altered from a 1993 patent and described it as “obviousness-type double patenting.”