Pharma News Briefs

The Supreme Court this morning denied Pfizer’s cert petition in the Norvasc case (AP story). Although the Federal Circuit’s March 22 decision is controversial, the denial of Pfizer’s cert petition is not surprising, given that the Court had previously denied Pfizer’s motions for an emergency stay and for an expedited appeal.
Late last Friday the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Novartis’s emergency motion to enjoin Teva from selling generic Famvir (Teva press release; Globes article). Three weeks ago, the Federal Circuit temporarily enjoined
Teva, apparently costing Teva three weeks of its 180-day exclusivity.
President Bush signed the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 into law last Thursday (AP story). FDA put out this press release. PhRMA released this statement.
Also Thursday, the Federal Circuit denied Alphapharm’s petition for rehearing en banc of Takeda v. Alphapharm, in which the court previously upheld Takeda’s patent on Actos. No opinion was issued.
The Federal Trade Commission announced in a press release Thursday that it is challenging Mylan’s proposed acquisition of E. Merck oHG, which is Merck KgAA’s generic subsidiary. See also this Reuters article.
FDA Law Blog had a very interesting post last Wednesday on FDA’s recent letter requesting comment on certain 180-day exclusivity forfeiture and Orange Book patent delisting issues.