International law firm Taylor Wessing advised Intas Pharmaceuticals, Accord Healthcare, Sandoz and Hexal AG in what has been described as a 'victory for patients'.

Judgment in the case was handed down by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday and confirms the decision of the UK High Court in March 2012 that AstraZeneca’sits blockbuster anti-psychotic drug Seroquel (including its sustained release version) are now free to do so.

Whilst the same patent is being litigated across a number of jurisdictions, courts in different countries have come to contrasting conclusions about its validity. Lord Justice Mummery in the appeal judgment even commented "there are as many opinions as there are people". The comment is interesting as the Unified Patents Court is starting to take shape with supporters of the new system advocating that it will minimise such discrepancies across Europe.

Simon Cohen, partner leading the team that advised a number of the companies challenging the patent validity comments:

"The UK Court of Appeal has confirmed once again that High Court decisions on obviousness will generally not be disturbed on appeal, reflecting the fact that the High Court Judge is the Judge of Fact and the Court of Appeal merely has to decide whether the decision was wrong on the evidence and arguments made at first instance. Unlike in other European jurisdictions (and the EPO), the Appeal is not a de novo hearing."

Comment from Intas Pharmaceuticals and Accord Healthcare

"As Part of the Intas Group, Accord Healthcare is a young and dynamic pharmaceutical company, involved in the development, manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical products to over 50 markets around the world and committed to providing patients with the best possible care. The decision to fight this action is vindicated by the Court’s judgment and means that the over 5 million patients in the UK with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder now have better access to a more convenient and effective medicine. Accord will continue to actively extend the number of products that are brought to market and this decision is a reminder of the hurdles faced by generic companies in commercialising products in Europe."

Lawyers Simon Cohen, Saufung Ma

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