Merck Gets Second Shot at Axing Wyeth’s Vaccine Patent Claim (1)

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. will get another chance to knock out a rival’s vaccine patent claim after the Federal Circuit tossed a Patent and Trademark Office tribunal’s ruling in a dispute between the two pharmaceutical companies.

The agency’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board improperly examined evidence before concluding a claim in Wyeth LLC’s U.S. Patent No. 8,562,999 was valid, the appeals court ruled Nov. 26. It directed the board to reconsider the companies’ arguments and evidence and re-examine whether claim 18 of the patent was obvious over prior technology.

The decision demonstrates how the U.S. Court of Appeals for ...