On March 4, 2024, Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC (“Merck”) filed four IPRs challenging The Johns Hopkins University (“JHU”) patents covering methods of treatment using pembrolizumab, which Merck sells under the trade name...more
Today, the district court for the Western District of Texas granted the government’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by PhRMA and other organizations challenging the Drug Price Negotiation Program of the Inflation...more
On September 20, Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review status to Merck’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval for its anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA...more
A bipartisan coalition of 23 state attorney generals led by Virginia AG Jason Miyares recently went up in arms about a products liability ruling they believe will threaten state consumer protection laws. On May 30, the...more
Massachusetts federal and state courts issued several important product liability decisions in 2021. Nutter’s Product Liability practice group reviewed these cases and report on their significant holdings as follows...more
Even as the coronavirus batters parts of the country, notably the Mountain West, public health officials are pointing to key ways in which Americans could safely and effectively further quell the pandemic that has claimed...more
As we ring in the new year, we look back at the top U.S. biosimilar market developments of 2020. Here are some of our highlights, in no particular order...more
On September 15, 2020, Merck Canada Inc., an affiliate of Merck & Co., Inc., announced that Health Canada approved BRENZYS® (etanercept) for the following additional indications...more
In this episode, Richard Church, Andrew Ruskin, and Victoria Hamscho discuss recent developments in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, including recent actions by drug manufacturers to limit contract pharmacy access to 340B...more
Some remembrances upon the passing of influential former Fed Chair Paul Volcker, a force in American economic policy for nearly 60 years who led “the Federal Reserve’s brute-force campaign to subdue inflation in the late...more
After years of limited guidance, the Supreme Court has finally provided direction to lower courts on the issue of preemption when they delivered their opinion in Merck v. Albrecht. “Preemption” is a common defense used by...more
Where does my prescription come from? Has it been altered or diluted? Can I trust the label? With millions of prescriptions filled each year, quality control and security across the pharmaceutical supply chain seems like a...more
Big Pharma is a broad commercial sector with many diverse enterprises large and small, but they keep showing they’re united in their giant gall when it comes to their unacceptable products and practices, as timely news...more
Over the past few weeks, numerous biologics and biosimilar companies released their quarterly earnings for Q1 2018 and held related earnings calls. Below are some highlights...more
The European Commission (EC) and other national competition authorities (NCAs) have traditionally shied away from investigating allegations of excessive pricing and appearing as price regulators. Commissioner Vestager warned...more
Case Name: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Amneal Pharms. LLC, 881 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (Circuit Judges Taranto, Clevenger, and Stoll presiding; Opinion by Stoll, J.) (Appeal from D. Del., Robinson, J.)....more
Last week it was reported (here and here) that Merck launched Samsung Bioepis’ Ontruzant® in the United Kingdom, the first biosimilar trastuzumab launched in Europe. Ontruzant® is a biosimilar of Roche’s Herceptin® and is...more
Case Name: Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V. v. Warner Chilcott Co., LLC, No. 2016-2583, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 20441 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 19, 2017) (Circuit Judges Dyk, Linn, and Hughes presiding; Opinion by Hughes, J.) (Appeal from D....more
Case Name: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Hospira, Inc. 874 F.3d 724, No. 17-1115, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 21201 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 26, 2017) (Circuit Judges Newman, Lourie, and Hughes presiding; Opinion by Lourie, J.; Dissent by...more
On 3 November 2017, the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) handed down a landmark decision on the infringement of second medical use patents in the Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (“MSD”) v. Teva Pharma B.V. and Pharmachemie B.V....more
Case Name: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Actavis Labs. Fl, Inc., No. 15-cv-6075 (PGS) (DEA), 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164131 (D.N.J. Sept. 29, 2017) (Sheridan, J.)... Drug Product and Patent(s)-in-Suit: Noxafil®...more
According to the American Cancer Society (“ACS”), lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell) is the second most common cancer in both men and women (not counting skin cancer). About 14% of all new cancers are lung...more
The X. Civil Senate of the German Federal Court of Justice has granted a motion by three companies of the Merck Sharp & Dohme group (Merck) for a preliminary permission for the continued distribution of Isentress®, a drug...more
Case Name: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Amneal Pharms. LLC, Civ. No. 15-250-SLR, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12165 (D. Del. Jan. 30, 2017) (Robinson, J.). Drug Product and U.S. Patent: Nasonex® (mometasone furoate nasal...more
Case Name: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Hospira Inc., 14-cv-915-RGA, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139721 (D. Del. Oct. 7, 2016) (Andrews, J.). Drug Product and Patent(s)-in-Suit: Invanz® (ertapenem); U.S. Patents Nos. 5,952,323...more