Supreme Court rejects Allergan, Saint Regis Mohawk appeal in patent case

A novel attempt by a drugmaker to protect market exclusivity on its drug by transferring the patents to a Native American tribe has officially failed.

On Monday, the Supreme Court denied a petition by Dublin-headquartered Allergan to appeal their case, which the company and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York filed in December after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled against them. In September 2017, Allergan transferred the patents covering the dry-eye drug Restasis (cyclosorine) to the Mohawk and then licensed them back from the tribe in exchange for an upfront payment and royalties. The thinking was that tribal sovereignty would allow the Mohawk to invoke sovereign immunity to petition the Patent Trial and Review Board to dismiss an Inter Partes Review challenging the patents that was filed by generic drugmakers Mylan and Akorn.

https://medcitynews.com/2019/04/supreme-court-rejects-allergan-saint-regis-mohawk-appeal-in-patent-case/