A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday upheld the validity of Shire Orphan Therapies’ patent for Firazyr, blocking a Germany-based pharma company from launching a planned generic version of the anti-inflammatory drug until 2019.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Gregory M. Sleet of the District of Delaware rejected the argument that Shire’s patent was invalid as an “obviousness-type double patenting.” The German pharma company, Fresenius Kabi, argued in extensive post-trial briefing that Shire tried to extend its term of exclusivity on the groundbreaking drug by obtaining a second patent with only slight variations from the first.
