Home / Crime and Justice / Supreme Court Unanimous on Pharma Patents
Supreme Court Unanimous on Pharma Patents
4 Jun
Summary
- Justices unanimously ruled in a pharmaceutical patent dispute.
- The ruling clarifies generic drug liability with 'skinny labels'.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the unanimous opinion.
In a significant pharmaceutical patent dispute, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous 9-0 decision authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The ruling addresses the complex issue of generic drug liability when marketing medicines with "skinny labels" that exclude patented uses.
The case, Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., involved Amarin, the maker of Vascepa, suing Hikma for seeking to market a generic version. Hikma's proposed label excluded a patented cardiovascular use, leading to the patent infringement claim.
The Supreme Court's decision reverses a lower court's ruling, providing a clarified legal standard for when such claims can proceed. This precedent may influence the accessibility of lower-cost generic drugs.
This unanimous outcome is notable, occurring on a court often characterized by ideological divisions. Justice Jackson's authorship of the opinion highlights a point of rare consensus among the nine justices.
