UCB loses its appeal in Neupro patent case, giving Teva and Viatris a win

After UCB tried once again to block generic competition to its Parkinson’s disease patch Neupro, an appeals court has handed a win to its generic rivals.

In a decision this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit threw its support behind a 2021 ruling from a Delaware federal court that found Neupro's so-called '589 patent is invalid. Both courts ruled that inventions disclosed in the patent were already covered in two prior patents.

Back in 2013, UCB took Teva's Actavis to court after the generics maker tried to get FDA approval for its Neupro copycat. In that case, UCB won an injunction that prevented Actavis’ generic from market entry until 2021.

Then in 2019, a year after it filed for the newer ‘589 patent, UCB again sued Actavis over the same FDA generic application. This time the company accused the Teva subsidiary of stepping on its new ‘589 patent in the hopes that it could secure a longer term of market exclusivity.

In March 2021, the same month that its earlier injunction expired, the Delaware federal court found the newer patent is invalid. Now, upon appeal, that decision has been upheld.

“We have considered UCB’s remaining arguments on appeal and find them unpersuasive,” the Federal Circuit court wrote in its 28-page ruling. 

UCB also had patent litigation running against Viatris' Mylan, its 2022 annual report (PDF) says. 

It isn't immediately clear when either of the generics makers will launch in the wake of their appeals win.

Last year, Neupro pulled in 305 million euros ($335.2 million), a slight drop from 2021’s 307 million euros ($337.4 million).