CAFC invalidates Medicines Co.'s AngioMax patents

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that two patents covering Angiomax bivalirudin from The Medicines Co. (NASDAQ:MDCO) are invalid. The Medicines Co. had filed suit against Hospira Inc. (NYSE:HSP) in August 2010 after Hospira submitted two ANDAs seeking to market its generic bivalirudin before the two patents, U.S. Patents Nos. 7,582,727 and 7,598,343, expire in 2028.

Last year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware found that the patents were valid, but ruled that Hospira's generic version of the small molecule direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI) did not infringe on them. The Medicines Co. appealed the claim construction and non-infringement rulings, and Hospira appealed the validity ruling. ...