Looming Judge Fight Threatens Generics’ Favored Patent Forum

Generic drugmakers are pushing to save a forum they lean on to kill brand name patents from collapsing at the hands of the Supreme Court.

Industry groups representing Apotex, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, and other companies and organizations fear a high court ruling in a case over the constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges could eliminate the tribunal’s patent validity trials or leave them subject to political influence.

Preserving those trials, called inter partes reviews, is critical for maintaining low drug prices, the groups argue. IPRs are known for their speed and high rate of revoking intellectual property rights—which ...