Hedge fund's IPR petition against Allergan denied

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied an inter partes review petition from hedge fund Ferrum Ferro Capital against Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN) last week.

Ferrum's petition targeted U.S. Patent No. 7,030,149, which covers a method of using Combigan 0.2% brimonidine/0.5% timolol solution to reduce the number of topical ophthalmic doses of brimonidine to treat glaucoma or ocular hypertension from three to two times daily. The court ruled that the petitioner failed to establish that language in one of the patent's claims constituted a limitation that would have rendered the claim obvious. ...