Hospira UK Ltd v Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC

Hospira UK Ltd v Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC

The claimed invention was obvious in light of Lin and Jiang because the skilled team would have expected daptomycin to be a surfactant, could have confirmed this by routine tests, and would have found it obvious to use pH adjustment instead of methanol to alter the CMC. The necessary testing was straightforward, and the risk of degradation would not have deterred the skilled team. The judge made no error of principle and had an ample evidential basis for his findings.

Parties
Claimant/respondent: Hospira UK Limited; Defendant/appellant: Cubist Pharmaceuticals LLC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 January 2018
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal (patents) / Appeal From High Court Decision on Patent Validity
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

Civil Appeal (patents) / Appeal From High Court Decision on Patent Validity

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 had a fair expectation of success in applying the Lin and Jiang method to daptomycin using pH adjustment

Ratio Decidendi

The claimed invention was obvious in light of Lin and Jiang because the skilled team would have expected daptomycin to be a surfactant, could have confirmed this by routine tests, and would have found it obvious to use pH adjustment instead of methanol to alter the CMC. The necessary testing was straightforward, and the risk of degradation would not have deterred the skilled team. The judge made no error of principle and had an ample evidential basis for his findings.

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