Pharmacy Daily | Servier loses patent appeal

APOTEX has experienced what it is describing as a “resounding win” in the latest round of its longrunning battle against Servier over the patent of perindopril. The case concerned proposed amendments to the patent of perindopril which would have allowed Servier to extend its exclusive rights to the drug. The Full Federal Court appeal decision, handed down on Thursday, supported the initial court mandate that disallowed Servier’s request to amend a patent concerning a specific crystalline form of the perindopril salt. Had the decision allowed Servier to amend the patent, the drug company would have been able to limit generic equivalents. The appeals court supported the original judgment of Justice Bennett to refuse the proposed amendments because Servier had failed to voluntarily disclose all relevant matters until they were exposed by Apotex. “That failure to disclose was not of some minor … matter. It was a failure to disclose Servier’s reason for the amendments,” said Justice Bennett. The Appeals Court also added its own reasons behind denying Servier the proposed amendments saying that they were “not fairly based on the specification”, and as such would not be allowable under the Patents Act 1990. Servier has now been ordered to pay Apotex’s costs in relation to the appeal.

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