U.S. Supreme Court Denies Amarin, AbbVie Patent Appeals

The Supreme Court this week declined to hear two pharmaceutical patent cases.

The court rejected Amarin’s try at rejuvenating its patents on its fish-oil based drug Vascepa (icosapent ethyl). A lower court had ruled in March 2020 that the company’s patents were invalid following a challenge by two generic drug companies, Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.

The Supreme Court also turned away an appeal from AbbVie of a 2011 lower court ruling that the company violated federal antitrust law by pursuing a sham patent complaint against Perrigo.

The court denied that appeal and left intact the court ruling that AbbVie’s complaint against Perrigo was filed to delay a proposed generic version of AbbVie’s testosterone drug, AndroGel.