The Supreme Court of Canada has clarified its earlier ruling in
Teva Canada Ltd. v. Pfizer Canada Inc. saying the Viagra patent is not invalid or void.
In
Teva v. Pfizer, Pfizer sought an order prohibiting the Minister of Health from issuing a notice of compliance to Teva for its generic version of Viagra under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations.
On June 4, the Supreme Court confirmed the patent in issue is neither invalid or void, finding instead that Teva had established its allegation and therefore dismissing Pfizer’s application for an order of prohibition.
David Aitken, counsel for Teva Canada, says he was “disappointed in the result” given the finding of the court that the patent had been obtained through “
gaming the system.”
“I would have thought this could have provided the rationale for going beyond the recognized limited remedy and finally holding the patent to be invalid but it was not to be,” Aitken tells
Legal Feeds. “But Teva has its generic version of Viagra on the market. The only issue outstanding before the Supreme Court was whether Pfizer’s patent covering Viagra would finally be declared invalid or not, but the patent has subsequently been declared invalid by the Federal Court of Canada and so I think it’s still an absolute victory by Teva.”
