Arnold & Porter Secures Groundbreaking Biotechnology Win for Sanofi and Regeneron

Arnold & Porter secured a complete patent litigation victory from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for pharmaceutical companies Sanofi-Aventis US and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in one of the most closely watched biotechnology cases in recent years. The case involved important issues relating to antibody patents and its outcome will significantly impact companies developing therapeutic antibodies.

In 2014, another biotechnology company sought billions of dollars in damages and a permanent injunction against the sale of Sanofi and Regeneron's lifesaving and cholesterol-reducing drug Praluent over patent disputes. In 2017, the Federal Circuit reversed a jury verdict for that company and remanded for a new trial on written description and enablement, concluding that a lower court had wrongly excluded evidence and issued an erroneous jury instruction. The Federal Circuit also vacated a permanent injunction in favor of that company. Prior to the trial, the Delaware District Court dismissed claims of willfulness.

During the February 2019 re-trial, the jury found two of the five patent claims asserted were invalid, with the other three being held valid. The Arnold & Porter team secured a victory on its post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law, which found the other three claims invalid for lack of enablement, thus completing the win for Sanofi and Regeneron. On February 11, 2021, the Federal Circuit affirmed this victory.

The Arnold & Porter team included partner Matt Wolf, who co-chairs the firm's Intellectual Property group; partners David Barr, Deborah Fishman, and Daniel Reisner; and associate Victoria Reines.