Braintree Laboratories Inc. v. Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc.

170 F. Supp. 3d 555, 2016 WL 1070844, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33336
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 15, 2016
Docket12-CV-6851 (AJN)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 170 F. Supp. 3d 555 (Braintree Laboratories Inc. v. Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braintree Laboratories Inc. v. Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc., 170 F. Supp. 3d 555, 2016 WL 1070844, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33336 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ALISON J. NATHAN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Braintree Laboratories, Inc. (“Braintree”) filed this patent infringement action on September 11, 2012. Dkt. No. 1. Defendant Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. (“Breckenridge”) filed its motion for summary judgment of non-infringement on July 6, 2015. Dkt. No. 84. For the reasons discussed below, Breckenridge’s motion is GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND1

This case arises from Breckenridge’s attempt to obtain FDA approval for a generic version of Braintree’s SUPREP, a colon cleansing solution. Braintree alleges that Breckenridge’s product (“the Generic Product”) infringes its patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,946,149 (“the ’149 Patent”).

A. The ’149 Patent

The T49 Patent, issued in September 2005, is a composition and methods patent related to “colonic lavage,” or colon cleansing. PCSMF ¶¶ 18-19, DCSMF ¶¶ 1-2. Claim 15 of the T49 Patent, as reexamined, recites:

A composition for inducing purgation of the colon of a patient, the composition comprising from about 100 mL to about 500 mL of an aqueous hypertonic solution comprising an effective amount of Na^O^ an effective amount of MgS04, and an effective amount of K2S04, wherein the composition does not produce any clinically significant electrolyte shifts and does not include phosphate.

CSMF ¶ 26; Dkt. No. 86 Ex. G at 3. Similarly, claim 23 of the T49 Patent recites “[a] method for inducing colonic purgation in a patient... wherein the effective amount of the composition is administered in two or more doses within a treatment period.” Id. at 4.

In the patent’s specification, Braintree justified its invention by describing two main problems with existing methods of colonic lavage. PCSMF ¶ 19. On the one hand, the traditional method required consuming large quantities (approximately four liters) of solution. Id. While this method was “safe and efficacious,” Braintree noted that “large volume solutions [were] not well tolerated by patients.” Id. On the other hand, newer methods required “oral ingestion of small volumes of concentrated ... solutions” but resulted in “clinically significant effects on bodily chemistry.” Id. In this respect, the specification cited Fleet Phospho-Soda, which required taking “two (2) three ounce doses of [the solution], separated by a three to 12 hour interval for a total of six ounces (180 ml).” Id. ¶ 20. Braintree noted that this development represented “a significant reduction compared to the large 1 gallon volumes” of other products. Id. However, as noted in [558]*558the specification, this treatment had “been shown to cause massive electrolyte and fluid shifts that are clinically significant to the patient.” Id.

B. The Products

Braintree manufactures SUPREP, an osmotic laxative approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for “cleansing of the colon in preparation for colonoscopy in adults.” SF ¶¶ 1-4. SU-PREP is sold as a kit containing two 6-ounce bottles of solution, each of which must be diluted with water to 16 ounces (473 ml) prior to consumption. Id. ¶¶ 5-6. SUPREP’s label instructs a patient to take one bottle of solution (diluted to 473 mL) the night before a scheduled colonoscopy, and the second bottle of solution (again diluted to 473 mL) ten to twelve hours later. Id. ¶¶ 27, 34-35, 41. Ingesting a single bottle of appropriately diluted solution causes a patient to have “copious, watery diarrhea.” Id. ¶ 7.

Breckenridge’s predecessor in interest, Cypress Pharmaceutical, Inc.,2 sought approval from the FDA to market a generic version of SUP REP (“the Generic Product”) through the Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”) process. SF ¶¶ 9-10; see also 21 U.S.C. § 355(j) (describing the ANDA process); Allergan, Inc. v. Alcon Labs., Inc., 324 F.3d 1322, 1326-27 (Fed.Cir.2003) (same). As required by the ANDA scheme, the Generic Product would be identical to SUPREP. SF ¶¶ 13-18; see also 21 U.S.C. § 355(j)(2); Allergan, 324 F.3d at 1326. As a result, the Generic Product would contain the same ingredients in the same quantities and be administered in the same manner as SUPREP. SF ¶¶ 13, 17, 28. If the ANDA were approved, the Generic Product would be sold as a kit of two 6-ounce bottles of solution, each of which must be diluted with water to 16 ounces (473 mL) prior to consumption approximately ten to twelve hours apart before a patient’s colonoscopy. Id. ¶¶ 5-6,13, 35, 41. As with SUPREP, drinking one appropriately diluted bottle of the Generic Product would cause a patient to have “copious, watery diarrhea.” Id. ¶ 24.

C. Prior Braintree SUPREP Litigation

In 2011, Braintree filed suit in the District of New Jersey against Novel Laboratories, Inc. (“Novel”), another company seeking FDA approval for a generic version of SUPREP. DCSMF ¶84. Novel’s generic version of SUPREP was identical to SUPREP, and as a result, to the Generic Product in the instant litigation. Id. ¶ 85. In the Novel case, the district court construed certain terms of the patent, considered a number of non-infringement arguments advanced by Novel, and ultimately granted Braintree’s motion for summary judgment of infringement. Id. ¶¶ 87, 90, 92-93; see also Braintree Labs., Inc. v. Novel Labs., Inc., No. CIV.A. 11-1341 (PGS), 2012 WL 4120907 (D.N.J. Sept. 19, 2012) and Braintree Labs., Inc. v. Novel Labs., Inc., No. CIV.A. 11-1341 (PGS), 2013 WL 211252 (D.N.J. Jan. 18, 2013) (together, “Novel I”). Novel appealed the district court’s judgment to the Federal Circuit, which affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded to the district court for further proceedings. DCSMF ¶ 97; see also Braintree Labs., Inc. v. Novel Labs., Inc., 749 F.3d 1349, 1360 (Fed.Cir.2014) (“Novel II”). The parties dispute to what extent the arguments currently raised by Breckenridge were raised by Novel on ap[559]*559peal and addressed by the Federal Circuit in Novel II. Br. at 3-6; Opp. Br. at 6-10.

D. The Instant Suit

In 2012, shortly after suing Novel, Braintree sued Breckenridge and alleged that its Generic Product infringed the ’149 Patent. Dkt. No. 1. In Februáry 2013, the parties indicated that the district court in Novel I had granted Braintree’s motion for summary judgment of infringement. Dkt. No. 26. Thereafter, the parties entered into a stipulation to narrow the issues to be decided in this case. First, Breckenridge stipulated to the construction of the term “purgation” adopted by the District of New Jersey in Novel I.3 Dkt. No. 41 ¶ 5; Dkt. No. 93 Ex. 1 at 23:1-4, 10-13. Under that construction, “purgation” is “an evacuation of a copious amount of stool from the bowels after oral administration of the solution.” Novel I, 2012 WL 4120907, at *6.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
170 F. Supp. 3d 555, 2016 WL 1070844, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33336, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braintree-laboratories-inc-v-breckenridge-pharmaceutical-inc-nysd-2016.