Partial Final Judgment Entered as to Invalidity of Remicade Patent​

The court granted defendant's motion for judgment under Rule 54(b) that one of plaintiffs' chronic pain drug patents was invalid due to obviousness-type double patenting and found that the public interest weighed in favor of an immediate appeal. "[T]he risk of being required to pay [plaintiff] for its lost profits if the [invalidated] patent is valid and infringed could delay the sale of [defendant's drug product] in the United States. If so, [plaintiff] would continue to have a monopoly generating more than $4 billion a year based on a patent this court has found to be invalid. . . . More significantly, uncertainty concerning whether [defendant] may be enjoined from selling [defendant's drug product] in the future could discourage doctors from prescribing it. Most importantly, the public interest in making [defendant's drug product] available to doctors and their patients if it does not infringe a valid patent will be served by an immediate appeal. . . . [Plaintiff's drug product] can cost up to $20,000 per patient per year. . . . A less expensive biosimilar alternative to compete fairly with [plaintiff's drug product] would be in the public interest."

Janssen Biotech, Inc. et al v. Celltrion Healthcare Co., Ltd. et al, 1-15-cv-10698 (MAD September 26, 2016, Order) (Wolf, USDJ)