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Acorda autoimmune news

February 16, 2015 8:00 AM UTC

Coalition for Affordable Drugs filed an inter partes review with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office challenging one of Acorda’s patents for multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra dalfampridine.

The patent -- Patent No. 8,663,685 -- expires in 2024 and covers methods to improve walking in MS patients with twice-daily 10 mg Ampyra. The petitioner argued that the patent’s claim to a method of administering a sustained-release formulation of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) twice a day for at least two weeks was “known in the prior art” to be effective at improving walking in MS patients. If the petition is accepted, the patent office is expected to issue a final determination in 12 months, but may extend the review for an additional six months. Acorda said all five of Ampyra’s Orange Book patents would have to be invalidated before a generic could be launched. The last patent expires in 2027. ...