Shire ($SHPG) has scored a victory in its quest to protect its patent on ulcerative colitis med Lialda. Tuesday, it said the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida had upheld Lialda's IP shield, determining after a lengthy journey through the court system that a copy from Allergan's ($AGN) generics unit infringed on that patent. But while Shire may be breathing easier now, it's not completely out of the woods. Pharma patent challenger Kyle Bass, utilizing the U.S. Patent Trademark Office (PTO) inter partes review system, in October scored a review of Lialda's patent protection, meaning that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board could nix that IP within the year. Release | More