A U.S. appeals court ruled Nov. 13 that Allergan's patents on its blockbuster eye drug Restasis are invalid, according to Bloomberg.
The move effectively ends a saga in which Allergen tried to transfer ownership of its patents to an American Indian tribe to shield them from review by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The ruling, which upheld a 2017 trial court decision, is a win for several generic drugmakers, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Akorn and Mylan, which are working on copy-cat versions of the drug.
Allergan hoped the patents would block generic competition on Restasis until 2024, as the drug brought in $1.5 billion in revenue last year.
In the trial court decision last year, Circuit Judge William Bryson said Allergan is "not entitled to renewed patent rights for Restasis in the form of a second wave of patent protection." The appeals court affirmed the decision.
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