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By Jeffrey S. Ginsberg
March 01, 2019

 

SCOTUS Confirms that Secret Sales Continue to Qualify as Prior Art Under the AIA

 On Jan. 22, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Thomas, in Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharms. USA, Inc., 586 U.S. __ (2019) (http://bit.ly/2Eixoxq), holding that an inventor's sale of an invention to a third party who is obligated to keep the invention confidential can qualify as prior art under 35 U.S.C. §102(a).

In early 2000, Helsinn Healthcare S. A. (Helsinn), a Swiss pharmaceutical company, submitted protocols to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trials of 0.25mg and 0.75 mg doses of palonosetron a drug for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea. Subsequently, Helsinn entered into a license agreement, and a supply and purchase agreement for palonosetron with MGI Pharma, Inc. (MGI).

The license agreement granted MGI the right to distribute, promote, market, and sell 0.25 mg and 0.75 mg doses of palonosetron in the United States in return for certain one-time and recurring payments to Helsinn. Under the supply and purchase agreement, MGI agreed to purchase these palonosetron products exclusively from Helsinn. Both agreements required MGI to keep confidential any proprietary information, including dosage information, received under the agreements.

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