By Kevin E. Noonan — The Federal Circuit recently granted a panel rehearing and vacated a panel decision between these parties decided earlier this year (see Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Accord Healthcare), and rendered a decision that reversed the District Court finding in that earlier opinion. To recap, the case arose in ANDA litigation over U.S. Patent No. 9,187,405, which recites methods for treating recurring remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a degenerative disorder of the myelin surrounding nervous tissue, with fingolimod (2-amino-2-[2-(4-octylphenyl)ethyl]propane-1,3-diol) sold by Novartis under the brand name Gilenya®. Claim 1 was included in the opinion as representative: A method…
