The Federal Circuit has sided against the Tribe and Allergan.  On July 20, the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that denied the motion by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe to terminate a series of inter partes review proceedings commenced by Mylan ($MYL) against patents listed in the Orange Book for Allergan’s ($AGN) drug Restasis®.  What are the takeaways from this decision?

On June 4, 2018, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in Allergan’s effort to assert tribal immunity at the PTAB to shut down six IPRs against its Restasis® patents.  The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has appealed the PTAB’s prior decision that it cannot assert its immunity as a basis to terminate the IPRs.  While there was no clear indication for how the three-judge panel at the Federal Circuit would rule, there were some interesting exchanges revealing how the Court views these types of transactions, and how viable they may be in the future.

Our earlier post on VirnetX’s recent $502M jury verdict commended the company and its counsel on an incredible win, but nevertheless pointed out that it might be for naught.  The patents asserted in the trial for the $502M damages currently stand invalid pursuant to petitions for inter pares re-examination and inter partes review.  But what about Oil States?  The case is currently pending before the Supreme Court, and it addresses the constitutionality of petitions for inter partes review (IPR).  The case has already heard oral argument, and a decision is expected imminently.  Some commentators have suggested that if the Supreme Court holds IPRs unconstitutional, then that will vacate the invalidity decisions of VirnetX’s patents from the PTAB, and nothing will finally stand in the way of VirnetX’s damages.  What are the considerations that may keep alive VirnetX's prospect of collecting damages?

The Supreme Court has heard oral argument in Oil States v. Greene’s Energy, and a decision whether IPRs are unconstitutional is currently pending.  For companies currently embroiled in IPRs that could directly impact their bottom line, the Supreme Court’s decision could be very tangible.  AbbVie ($ABBV) and Coherus Biosciences ($CHRS) are a case in point. 

In the course of eviscerating IPRs through Oil States, pharma could theoretically open the door to jury trials for its patents.  That may not be a good thing for branded pharma.