2
Oct 17
Relevance of prosecution history in the assessment of the patent infringement by equivalents: a new trend in Italy
In a recent urgent decision, the Court of Milan held that the prosecution history must be taken into account, and is therefore relevant when assessing patent infringement by equivalence.
1
Oct 17
The Consiglio di Stato rules Italian regions cannot introduce restrictions to the prescription of innovative drugs
The Italian administrative court of last instance (“Consiglio di Stato”), in its recent ruling no. 4546 of 29 September, 2017, stated that Italian regions cannot issue recommendations to limit the prescription of innovative drugs compared to those established by the Italian Agency for Medicines (the “AIFA”).
5
Sep 17
A new regime of pharmacy ownership in Italy: opportunities opened for investors
The recent competition Law No. 124 of 4 August 2017 has several noteworthy consequences for the ownership and management of pharmacies in Italy, with the purpose of enhancing competition and opening the sector to investors.
4
Sep 17
The European Commission keeps targeting certain patent settlements between pharma companies as anticompetitive agreements: Cephalon and Teva formally accused of “pay-for-delay” in relation to a settlement the parties concluded in 2005
On July 17, 2017 Margrethe Vestagher, the head of antitrust at the European Commission (“Commission”), announced that its services sent a “statement of objections”[1] to the US-based originator company Cephalon Inc (Cephalon) and the Israeli generic company Teva Pharmaceutical Industry Ltd (Teva), accusing the two firms of infringing Article 101 of the TFEU (which prohibits anticompetitive agreements between independent undertakings) when they entered into a patent settlement agreement that, allegedly, had the objective of delaying the marketing in the EEA of a generic version of modafinil – a blockbuster drug for sleep disorders – despite the relevant patents had expired.
