Hospira UK Ltd v Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC [2018] EWCA Civ 12 (18 January 2018)

Hospira UK Ltd v Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC [2018] EWCA Civ 12 (18 January 2018)

The claimed method for purifying daptomycin was obvious in light of Lin and Jiang, as the skilled team would have had a strong expectation that daptomycin was a surfactant, could confirm this by routine tests, and would have considered pH adjustment an obvious and attractive alternative to methanol for controlling micelle formation and dissociation. The necessary testing would have been straightforward, and the risk of degradation would not have deterred the skilled team from trying the method at laboratory or pilot scale.

Citation
[2018] EWCA Civ 12
Parties
Claimant/respondent: Hospira UK Limited; Defendant/appellant: Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 January 2018
Procedural Posture
Patent Appeal / Appeal From High Court (patents Court) to Court of Appeal
Outcome
Appeal dismissed; patent held invalid for lack of inventive step
Legal Topics
Obviousness, Inventive Step, Patent Invalidation, Pharmaceutical Patents
Intellectual Property Law Patent Law Obviousness Inventive Step Patent Invalidation Pharmaceutical Patents

Case Brief

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Parties

Hospira UK Limited

Claimant/respondent

Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC

Defendant/appellant

Procedural Posture

Patent Appeal / Appeal From High Court (patents Court) to Court of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the method claimed in European Patent (UK) 2,264,047 for purifying daptomycin is obvious over the prior art (Lin and Jiang)
  2. 2 Whether the skilled team would have a fair expectation of success in applying the Lin and Jiang method to daptomycin using pH adjustment

Ratio Decidendi

The claimed method for purifying daptomycin was obvious in light of Lin and Jiang, as the skilled team would have had a strong expectation that daptomycin was a surfactant, could confirm this by routine tests, and would have considered pH adjustment an obvious and attractive alternative to methanol for controlling micelle formation and dissociation. The necessary testing would have been straightforward, and the risk of degradation would not have deterred the skilled team from trying the method at laboratory or pilot scale.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed; patent held invalid for lack of inventive step

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed
  • Order for revocation of European Patent (UK) 2,264,047 upheld