Dey, L.P. v. Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc.

958 F. Supp. 2d 654, 2013 WL 3804590, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101500
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedJuly 17, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 1:09CV87
StatusPublished

This text of 958 F. Supp. 2d 654 (Dey, L.P. v. Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dey, L.P. v. Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc., 958 F. Supp. 2d 654, 2013 WL 3804590, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101500 (N.D.W. Va. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DKT. NO. 159]

IRENE M. KEELEY, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment of the plaintiffs, Dey, L.P. and Dey Inc. (collectively “Dey”). (Dkt. No. 159). Dey seeks summary judgment as to whether the proposed production and marketing of a generic version of Perforomist® by the defendants, Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd. (collectively “Teva”), will infringe two claims of one of Dey’s family of patents for that drug. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Dey’s motion. (Dkt. No. 159).

[657]*657I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A.

This patent infringement case involves four United States Patents issued to Dey, including 6,667,344 (“the '344 Patent”), 6,814,953 (“the '953 Patent”), 7,348,362 (“the '362 Patent”), and 7,462,645 (“the '645 Patent”) (collectively, the “patents-in-suit”). The '344 and '953 Patents, entitled “Bronchodilating Compositions and Methods,” derive from provisional U.S. patent application 60/284,606 and share essentially identical specifications. The '362 and '645 Patents, entitled “Bronchodilating Beta-Agonist Compositions and Methods,” derive from provisional U.S. patent application 60/486,386. They too share essentially identical specifications that closely resemble those of the '344 and '953 Patents.

The patents-in-suit cover aqueous compositions of formoterol that allow the compositions to remain suitable for direct administration during long-term storage. They also cover methods for using these compositions to treat broncho-constrictive disorders. Dey uses the formulations and methods described in these patents in a commercial product known as Perforomist®.

In a letter dated May 12, 2009, Teva, the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, notified Dey that it had filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (“ANDA”) seeking United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval to market a generic version of Perforomist® (Teva’s “proposed generic drug product”). Teva also filed a certification with the FDA alleging that the four patents issued to Dey for Perforomist® are invalid, unenforceable, and not infringed by Teva’s manufacture or sale of the proposed generic drug product. See 21 U.S.C. § 355Cj)(2)(A)(vii)(IV).

Dey responded to Teva’s ANDA by filing this lawsuit under the Hatch-Waxman Act, which “gives a drug patent owner the right to bring an action for infringement upon the filing of a paragraph TV certification.” Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Royce Laboratories, Inc., 69 F.3d 1130, 1135 (Fed.Cir.1995) (citing 35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(2)(A)). Dey alleges that Teva’s proposed generic drug product infringes on certain claims in the patents-in-suit, specifically claims 1-14, 16-22, 27-31, 33-39, 48, 61-62, 65, and 69-74 of the '344 Patent, claims 1-13, 15-21, 26-30, 32-38, 58-63, 74-86, 90-94, 99-103, 105-111, and 131-136 of the '953 Patent, claims 1-15 of the '362 Patent, and claims 1-3, and 5-9 of the '645 Patent (collectively, the “asserted claims”).

B.

Following briefing and a hearing on the parties’ proposed claim constructions, on June 17, 2011, 2011 WL 2461888, the Court entered an Order that construed the contested claim terms as follows:

1. “Formulated at a concentration suitable for direct administration” means “ready to administer directly to a subject in need thereof, without mixing or diluting;”
2. “Pharmaceutical composition” means “a medicinal formulation containing an active drug and inert ex-cipients;”
3. “Shelf life” means “the period of time during which a drug may be stored and remains suitable for use;” and
4. “Formulated for single dosage administration” means “formulated in a quantity that is taken or administered at one time.”

(Dkt. No. 99).

The Court also adopted the parties’ agreed constructions of the following terms:

[658]*6581. “Stable during long term storage” means “the composition has an estimated shelf-life of greater than 1, 2 or'3 months usage time at 25°C and greater than or equal to 1, 2 or 3 years storage time at 5° C;”
2. “Article of manufacture” means something that “contains (1) packaging material, (2) a composition, which is useful for treatment, prevention or amelioration of. one or more symptoms of diseases or disorders associated with undesired and/or uncontrolled bronchoconstriction, and (3) a label that indicates that the composition is used for treatment, prevention or amelioration of one or more symptoms of diseases or disorders associated with undesired and/or uncontrolled bronchoeonstriction;”
3. “Packaging material or pharmaceutical packaging material” means “blister packs, bottles, tubes, inhalers, pumps, bags, vials, containers, syringes, bottles, and any packaging material suitable for a selected formulation and intended mode of administration and treatment;”
4. “Label” means “Printed matter included with the article of manufacture that indicates that the composition is used for treatment, prevention or amelioration of one or more symptoms of diseases or disorders associated with undesired and/or uncontrolled bronchoconstriction.”
5. “Nebulizer/Nebulized” means:
“ ‘Nebulizer’: instrument that is capable of generating very fine liquid droplets for inhalation into the lung. Within this instrument, the nebulizing liquid or solution is atomized into a mist of droplets with a broad size distribution by methods known to those of skill in the art, including, but not limited to, compressed air, ultrasonic waves, or a vibrating orifice;” “ ‘Nebulized’: a liquid or solution composition that has been atomized into a mist of droplets with a broad size distribution by an instrument that utilizes methods known to those of skill in the art, including, but not limited to, compressed air, ultrasonic waves, or a vibrating orifice;” and
6. “Without dilution or other modification” means “a pharmaceutical composition that has not been diluted or changed in any other way.”

Id.

C.

On September 21, 2012, Dey filed a motion for partial summary judgment. Based on this Court’s claim construction, it asserted that Teva’s proposed generic drug product infringes every element of claims 1 and 65 of the '344 Patent. (Dkt. No. 160 at 4). In its response to the motion, Teva contended that, because the formoterol fumarate inhalation solution (the “formoterol solution”) in its proposed generic drug product degrades when exposed to sunlight, if not protected by a foil overwrap, its product was not “stable during long-term storage,” and consequently did not satisfy the elements of either claim 1 or claim 65, which depends upon claim 1. Teva also contended that its proposed generic drug product does not include the “label” required by claim 65.1

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
958 F. Supp. 2d 654, 2013 WL 3804590, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dey-lp-v-teva-parenteral-medicines-inc-wvnd-2013.