Petitioner, Coalition for Affordable Drugs VII LLC, is a subsidiary of a hedge fund managed by Kyle Bass. The patent owner is Pozen Inc. Horizon Pharma PLC is the manufacturer of Vimovo. Petitioner has also filed three other petitions involving patents related to the ’907 patent.
The ’907 patent discloses pharmaceutical compositions that provide for the coordinated release of an acid inhibitor and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The claims of the ’907 patent require an acid inhibitor present in an amount effective to raise the gastric pH of a patient to at least 3.5.
Petitioner argued that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to look to U.S. Patent No. 5,698,225 (“Gimet”), which discloses an NSAID in combination with an acid inhibitor, in view of clinical studies showing the effect of an acid inhibitor on gastric pH levels. The PTAB rejected this argument, stating that Gimet related to the application of an NSAID in the lower gastrointestinal tract, as opposed to the stomach or duodenum application claimed in the ’907 patent. The PTAB also stated that the clinical study Petitioner cited did not support the position that the preferred dosage in Gimet would raise gastric pH to 3.5 or higher.
Petitioner contended that some claims of the ’907 patent would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of U.S. Patent No. 5,204,118 (“Goldman”), which also discloses an NSAID in combination with an acid inhibitor. The PTAB rejected this argument, stating that Goldman does not teach the coated NSAID and the acid inhibitor without a complete enteric coating as required by the claims at issue.
The PTAB held that the Petition had not established a reasonable likelihood that Petitioner would prevail in showing that the claims of the ’907 patent were unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a).
Coalition for Affordable Drugs VII LLC v. Pozen Inc., IPR2015-01241, Paper 22 (PTAB Dec. 8, 2015)