The FTC Office of Patent Invalidation
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced late last month that it had “expanded its campaign against pharmaceutical manufacturers’ improper or inaccurate listing of patents in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book, disputing junk patent listings for diabetes, weight loss, asthma,and COPD drugs, including Novo Nordisk Inc.’s blockbuster weight-loss drug, Ozempic.” Warning letters were sent to 10 manufacturers, including, among others, Teva (identifying 58 listings), Novo Nordisk (36 listings), and Boehringer Ingelheim (10 listings).
The commission “notified the FDA that it disputes the accuracy or relevance of more than 300 Orange Book patent listings across 20 different brand name products.” That expands on the 100-plus patents listed in the November 2023 warning letters that the FTC sent to an overlapping group of manufacturers.
That’s quite a few challenges. Reading through the FTC’s press release and warning letters, it’s not really clear what’s going on here. More frolic and detour on the part of Chair Lina Khan’s FTC, or a legitimate effort to protect competition in pharmaceutical markets?