On July 28, 2016, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruled in favor of Finnegan client Bausch & Lomb, stating that generic drug makers InnoPharma Inc., Mylan Inc., and Lupin Ltd. failed to show that two Bausch & Lomb patents are invalid as obvious based on prior art.
The three generic drug makers filed a petition for inter partes review, arguing that the patents on the eye drop medication Prolensa would be obvious. However, the PTAB analyzed Bausch & Lomb's evidence and was persuaded to disagree, thus upholding every claim of the patents. The Board stated that Prolensa's unexpected results and commercial success prove that the petitioners could not demonstrate obviousness of the claimed invention.