Finnegan secures 10 years of patent protection for Relistor®

Finnegan represented Bausch Health Companies (f/k/a Valeant), Salix and Progenics—the innovators and patent owner—in this Hatch-Waxman infringement action in the District of New Jersey. Finnegan filed this patent infringement action on behalf of our clients to protect the patent rights related to the highly successful Relistor® tablet (methylnaltrexone bromide) product, a mu-opioid receptor antagonist. The Relistor® tablet product is indicated for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adults with chronic non-cancer pain, including patients with chronic pain related to prior cancer or its treatment. Assertion of the five patents-in-suit involved issues related to the validity and infringement of a pharmaceutical formulation. A bench trial was held, and the presiding judge issued an 83-page opinion upholding the validity of the asserted patent claims and finding those claims infringed, thereby entering judgment in favor of plaintiffs through the life of the patents, extending through 2030.