It seems that the Supreme Court will in fact hear Novartis’ case in an attempt to overturn the 180-day notification period, as part of the “patent dance.” Its biosimilar-making subsidiary (Sandoz) will finally get its day in the nation’s top court in April, with a decision expected sometime in July.
The announcement has taken many by surprise because of an announcement by the court in December that it would not hear a similar case involving Apotex v. Amgen.
Although any new decision by the Supreme Court will have no bearing on the circumstances of the original case—Sandoz launched in September 2015 after sitting out the 180-day notification period—it will have important ramifications for biosimilars coming to market in the future. It is widely viewed that this notification is wholly unnecessary. This mandate of the BPCIA was intended to allow the completion of patent litigation, but instead is seen as an extension of the originator product’s exclusivity period.
However, even if the Supreme Court rules to strike down this unintended additional period of exclusivity, it may have relatively little effect in getting biosimilar products to the market sooner. Instead, the remaining patent litigation will prevent most drug makers from a quick launch after receiving Food and Drug Administration approval.
