Drugmakers’ Dual Roles Further Muddy Biologics Patent Cases (1)

Thirty years ago, the line in the sand for patent-infringement lawyers specializing in Big Pharma cases, though not absolute, was clear.

“It used to be really black hats and white hats,” Kevin E. Noonan, now a partner at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP, said in a recent interview. “Either you worked for the branded or you worked for the generics. And some branded would fire you even if you were working for a generic having nothing to do with what they’re doing.”

But the costly and complex development of biologic drugs has created new shades of gray for ...