Amgen Kidney Drug Ruling May Expand Patent Protection

A Federal Circuit ruling giving Amgen Inc. another shot to prove Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC infringed its patent for the kidney disease drug Sensipar could make it harder for generic drug makers to escape patent lawsuits.

The appeals court Jan. 7 vacated a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware that Amneal didn’t infringe claims in Amgen’s patent. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.

The decision offers new precedent that expands the protection of patent claims limited by Markush groups, said Aziz Burgy, ...