On July 8, 2021, the District Court for the District of Delaware issued a favorable claim construction decision for Venable Fitzpatrick client Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in a patent litigation concerning generic versions of Novartis’s Entresto® (sacubitril/valsartan) product.
In particular, the Court agreed with Novartis that claims in U.S. Patent Nos. 8,101,659 and 8,796,331 to a combination of active agents, sacubitril and valsartan or their pharmaceutically acceptable salts, were not limited to those agents as separate components. Judge Stark noted that Novartis’s claim construction was bolstered by its patent term extension applications, wherein Novartis represented that the patents cover Entresto®, which comprises non-separate, complexed valsartan and sacubitril salts. The Court also agreed with Novartis that certain claims in U.S. Patent No. 9,388,134 to a compound of sacubitril and valsartan salts were not limited to that compound in crystalline form.
Venable Fitzpatrick attorneys Christina Schwarz and Jared Stringham argued on behalf of Novartis at the oral hearing, and Laura Fishwick drafted the briefs. Novartis was also represented by attorneys Nicholas Kallas, Christopher Loh, Gregory Manas, Erin Belfield, Ju Yun Son, and Carrie Park.