FDA Blocks Allergan’s Appeal Against Generic Restasis
In Q3 2017 Allergan sued generic rivals Mylan (MYL) and Teva (TEVA) for infringing upon Restasis patents. Rivals saw it as a ruse to extend exclusivity for the drug. To thwart and inter partes review (“IPR”) Allergan sold patents for the drug to the St. Regis Mohawks. The plan was to use the Mohawks’ sovereign immunity to dismiss the IPR. This had to be one of the craziest patent ploys in history. It got the dander up of key lawmakers like Sherrod Brown and Claire McCaskill. It also brandished Allergan as the “most-hated drug company on earth.”
Judge William Bryson invalidated the Restasis patents in federal court. The IPR looks like it’s in trouble and the FDA recently denied Allergan’s third petition to block generic Restasis. It likely cleared the runway for Mylan (MYL) to launch generic Restasis within weeks. The news sent Twitter into delirium. Turn the pages for Twitter’s reactions:
