What now for second medical use?

Charlotte Tillett (pictured), partner, and Emily Hocken, trainee, at Stevens & Bolton, offer an Expert View on the significance of the UK Supreme Court ruling in Warner-Lambert (WL) v Generics relating to WL’s best-selling pain relief drug, Lyrica (pregabalin).

Following four years of proceedings, the court held that WL’s relevant patent claims were invalid and that, had they been valid, they would not have been infringed.

The ruling will be a tremendous disappointment for Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), WL’s parent, leaving it to face a potential claim, reported to be up to £500 million ($638 million), from the National Health Service (NHS) in respect of inflated prices paid for the drug during the period of the litigation.