Galderma SA’s monopoly on its brand-name acne treatment Differin Gel 0.3% went up in smoke on Wednesday, when the generic drug company Tolmar Inc. and its lawyers at McDermott Will & Emery persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to invalidate Galderma’s patents.
In a 2-1 decision, the Federal Circuit panel ruled that Galderma’s four patents on Differin 0.3% are invalid on obviousness grounds. The ruling overturns a prior decision by U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark in Wilmington. Tolmar and its corporate partner Sandoz Inc. are free to sell a generic version of Differin 0.3%, which has generated close to $100 million in annual sales for Galderma.
