It pays to read the details of patent specifications. By keeping the pH range of its generic vasopressin injection at least 0.01 below that specified for Vasostrict, Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc. cleared itself from claims that it had infringed two key patents protecting the brand drug.
The FDA’s bright line between orphan designation and exclusivity was erased, again, Monday for some drugs when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied the agency an en banc rehearing of Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Alex Azar.
Nearly three years after an FDA rejection of Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s initial effort to add exertional heat stroke (EHS) to the list of approved indications for Ryanodex (dantrolene sodium), its efforts have again been met with a complete response letter. The calcium channel modulator is already approved for the treatment of malignant hyperthermia (MH), but Eagle said it has decided to drop further pursuit of EHS.
A U.S. Court of Appeals affirmation of a lower court ruling requiring the FDA to grant Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s bendamustine infusion product, Bendeka, seven years of orphan drug exclusivity appears to resolve a key piece of uncertainty that had troubled Eagle and others in similar circumstances.