Law360 interviewed Finnegan partner Cora Holt for her insight on significant patent cases to watch in the second half of 2021.
One case Cora highlighted was Amgen v. Sanofi. In February 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Amgen’s patents covering a genus of antibodies could not meet the Patent Act's Section 112 enablement requirements, meaning a person skilled in the art would be able to successfully recreate the invention. Critics of the decision argued that the court defined antibody-based science in a way that does not mesh with how scientists view it, and that the court's interpretation could put existing patents for top-dollar biologics in jeopardy of invalidation. The Federal Circuit denied en banc rehearing and Amgen is expected to file a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States. Cora said, “We've seen the Federal Circuit over the last couple of years finding genus claims invalid over enablement and written description. These issues keep coming to the fore, and it remains a hot button topic for pharmaceutical and life sciences patents where you have claims written in the form of genus claims."
