Amgen v. Sanofi – When Functional Language in Patents Malfunctions

BSKB professionals, Dr. Hailey R. Bureau and Gerald “Jerry” Murphy, Jr., recently published an article with Law360.

Their article “How High Court Amgen Case Could Alter Patent Enablement” discusses the effect that the Amgen v. Sanofi decision has had at the district court level and at proceedings at the USPTO. In particular, they describe how the pending decision by the U.S. Supreme Court will further affect the future of patent applications and patents regarding claim validity and enablement.

They touch on the interpretation of functional claim language in two cases: AstraZeneca v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. (N.D.W. Va., Nov. 9, 2022) and Ex parte Beall (PTAB March 26, 2021). Dr. Bureau and Mr. Murphy state that “[t]he standard for providing an enabled disclosure for claims in the areas of chemistry and life sciences have been so substantially elevated by the courts such that a patentee having a broad claim has very little security in its investment.”