TRIS PHARMA, INC. v. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC.

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedAugust 16, 2022
Docket2:20-cv-05212
StatusUnknown

This text of TRIS PHARMA, INC. v. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC. (TRIS PHARMA, INC. v. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TRIS PHARMA, INC. v. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC., (D.N.J. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

TRIS PHARMA, INC., Plaintiff, Civ. No. 20-05212 (KM)(ESK) v.

TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA,

INC.,

Defendant.

KEVIN MCNULTY, U.S.D.J.: This is a Hatch-Waxman action for infringement of five patents: United States Patent No. 9,545,399 (“the ’399 patent”), United States Patent No. 9,844,544 (“the ’544 patent”), United States Patent No. 9,844,545 (“the ’545 patent”), United States Patent No. 11,103,494 (“the ’494 patent”), and United States Patent No. 11,103,495 (“the ’495 patent”) (collectively, the “asserted patents”). The action is brought by Tris Pharma Inc. (“Tris”), a pharmaceutical company that holds the asserted patents and sells an embodiment of the patents, a chewable extended-release medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”) called QuilliChew ER® (“QuilliChew”). The defendant is Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. Teva has filed Abbreviated New Drug Application No. 214202 (“ANDA”), seeking to produce and sell a generic version of QuilliChew. Tris alleges that Teva’s proposed generic product would infringe claims 22 and 24 of the ’399 patent; claim 37 of the ’544 patent; claims 17, 23, 24, and 28 of the ’545 patent; claim 28 of the ’494 patent; and claim 23 of the ’495 patent (collectively the “asserted claims”). Teva asserts that those patent claims are invalid for obviousness or indefiniteness. Assuming the claims are valid, Teva generally denies that its ANDA product would infringe, except that it concedes infringement of claim 28 of the ’494 patent and claim 23 of the ’495 patent. (DE 165 ¶ 125–26.)1 The Court conducted a bench trial on these issues beginning on May 23, 2022 and concluding on May 26, 2022. The parties have submitted post-trial briefing. (DE 197, 199, 201, 204.) This Opinion constitutes the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a). The findings of fact are based on the Court’s observations and credibility determinations of the witnesses who testified at trial and a thorough review of all the evidence. My validity conclusions are as follows: 1) Claim 24 of the ’545 patent is fully invalid for obviousness; 2) the AUC0-∞ and Cmax elements, insofar as they are incorporated in dependent claims 22 and 24 of the ’399 patent, claim 37 of the ’544 patent, claims 17, 23, 24, and 28 of the ’545 patent, and claim 28 of the ’494 patent, are invalid;2

1 I will cite to the record as follows: DE __ = Docket Entry in this action Def. Br. = Teva’s Corrected Opening Post-Trial Brief (DE 199) Def. Response = Teva’s Corrected Post-Trial Response Brief (DE 204) DTX = Defendants’ trial exhibits JTX = Parties’ joint trial exhibits PTX = Plaintiffs’ trial exhibits Pl. Br. = Tris’s Opening Post-Trial Brief (DE 197) Pl. Response = Tris’s Post-Trial Response Brief (DE 201) 1T = May 23, 2022 Bench Trial Transcript (DE 182) 2T = May 24, 2022 Bench Trial Transcript (DE 186) 3T = May 25, 2022 Bench Trial Transcript (DE 188) 4T = May 26, 2022 Bench Trial Transcript (DE 183) 2 As discussed in more detail below, these claims are all dependent claims. They are dependent, respectively, upon claim 1 of the ’399 patent, claim 28 of the ’544 patent, claim 1 of the ’545 patent, and claim 26 of the ’494 patent. It is those independent claims that include limitations related to AUC0-∞ and Cmax. A dependent claim, however, may be found to be valid even if the independent claim is found to be 3) Claim 23 of the ’495 patent, which does not include any limitations related to AUC0-∞ or Cmax, is fully valid. 4) Teva’s claims of indefiniteness are rejected. On the infringement issue, I find that Teva’s ANDA product infringes all of the asserted claims3 except for claim 24 of the ’545 patent, because it is invalid for obviousness.4 I. FINDINGS OF FACT A. Procedural Background On April 28, 2020, Tris filed a complaint for infringement of the asserted patents based on Teva’s ANDA filing, which sought approval to market a generic version of QuilliChew (the “ANDA product”). (DE 1.) The complaint alleged direct infringement as well as induced and contributory infringement of the asserted patents. At trial, however, Tris’s arguments focused solely on direct infringement. Following discovery, a Markman hearing was held on July 13, 2021. (DE 100.) I issued a claim construction opinion on August 25, 2021. (DE 106.) On May 9, 2022, both parties filed motions in limine, which I have held in abeyance and will resolve as necessary in this Opinion.5 (DE 153, 155.) On

fully invalid. See 35 U.S.C. § 282(a); MaxLinear, Inc. v. CF CRESPE LLC, 880 F.3d 1373, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2018). Thus, I must analyze whether the dependent claims are invalid on their own terms. Doing so, I find that only claim 24 of the ’545 patent is fully invalid. The remaining asserted claims are valid and were infringed by Teva’s ANDA product. 3 As noted, Teva concedes infringement as to claim 28 of the ‘494 patent and claim 23 of the ‘495 patent. 4 Although I have found invalid the AUC0-∞ and Cmax elements of the claims 22 and 24 of the ’399 patent, claim 37 of the ’544 patent, claims 17, 23, and 28 of the ’545 patent, and claim 28 of the ’494 patent, the asserted claims remain otherwise valid and are infringed by Teva’s ANDA product. 5 My rulings on the are laid out infra, but as a preliminary matter, I deny Tris’s motion in limine no. 4 (DE 156 at 13-15) as moot. The evidence relevant to that motion was not introduced at trial and forms no part of my decision (See DE 179-1 at 1). In addition, Teva’s motion in limine no. 2 was withdrawn (DE 179-2 at 1.) All objections that are not discussed infra are immaterial to the result and are deemed to be denied as moot. May 18, 2022, Judge Kiel issued a final pretrial order (DE 165), and the bench trial began on May 23, 2022. I accepted affidavits in lieu of direct testimony; the bench trial thus consisted of four days of cross and redirect examination of various expert witnesses, and introduction of exhibits. (DE 173, 175, 176, 177.) After the trial concluded, both parties filed opening post-trial briefs on June 27, 2022, and responsive post-trial briefs on July 18, 2022. (DE 197, 199, 201, 204.) B. ADHD Treatment ADHD is characterized by a lack of attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It affects millions of children, impairing their ability to perform necessary activities and, vitally, interfering with their performance in school. (PTX-519 ¶ 36–37; DTX-458 ¶ 16.) Counterintuitively, ADHD has long been treated by use of stimulants, most importantly methylphenidate (“MPH”). (PTX- 520 ¶ 137; DTX-458 ¶ 17.) Ritalin®, released in 1955, was the first MPH medication. (PTX-520 ¶ 137; DTX-458 ¶ 18.) As originally formulated, Ritalin® and other similar medications were immediate release (“IR”) medications, i.e., the MPH they contained was immediately introduced to the patient’s bloodstream. (PTX-520 ¶ 138; DTX-458 ¶ 18.) IR formulations featured a quick onset, but lasted only a few hours, and hence required repeated dosing to maintain symptom relief throughout the day. (PTX-520 ¶ 139–41; DTX-458 ¶ 21.) The need for repeated dosing, particularly at school, had obvious drawbacks, which led to the development of extended release (“ER”) formulations in the 1980s. (DTX-458 ¶ 21–23.) The first of these ER products, released in 1982, was Ritalin SR®. (PTX- 520 ¶ 143.) Ritalin SR® had a flat pharmacokinetic (“PK”) profile with a single mean peak. (Id. ¶ 146.) Ritalin SR®, however, was a commercial failure because it turned out that such a profile generally results in acute tolerance, making the drug less effective than immediate release formulations. (Id.

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TRIS PHARMA, INC. v. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA, INC., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tris-pharma-inc-v-teva-pharmaceuticals-usa-inc-njd-2022.