Allergan, Ferrum Ferro Capital opthalmic news
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 against Allergan. 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.
In June, Allergan filed suit against Ferrum in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging the hedge fund’s petition was an attempt to extort the company by “misusing” the IPR process. Allergan did not respond to inquiries concerning the status of the lawsuit and does not break out sales of Combigan (see BioCentury, June 29). ...