Argentum Pharmaceuticals Succeeds in Starting Patent Cancellation Trial Against Novartis' GILENYA®

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 9, 2017, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) granted Argentum Pharmaceuticals LLC's petition for inter partes review (IPR) against all claims of the last-expiring patent listed in the Food & Drug Administration's Orange Book covering Novartis AG's GILENYA^® (fingolimod) drug. Argentum Pharmaceuticals challenges claims 1?6 of Novartis' U.S. Patent No. 9,187,405, which the Orange Book states will expire in 2027. 

In instituting Argentum's IPR, the PTO concluded that Argentum established a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail in showing the unpatentability of claims 1?6 of the '405 patent.  The decision marks the beginning of an IPR trial that will be conducted by three specialist patent judges within the PTO's Patent Trial & Appeal Board.  A final decision on patentability in the IPR is expected by July 2018.

About Argentum Pharmaceuticals

Argentum is a generic drug company with core competencies in intellectual property and pharmaceutical operations. By working with branded and generic pharmaceutical companies and healthcare payors, Argentum intends to reduce the overall cost of prescription drugs by challenging patents that are not innovative and which artificially support high drug prices. http://www.argentumpharmaceuticals.com 

SOURCE Argentum Pharmaceuticals