Merck Statement on US Patent & Trademark Office Decision to Reexamine the SINGULAIR Patent
By admin - Posted on June 1st, 2009
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., May 29, 2009 - Merck & Co., Inc. today provided the following statement regarding the decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to reexamine the SINGULAIR patent.
Reexamination is an administrative procedure within the PTO that can be initiated by any person. Essentially, if a potential new issue of invalidity is raised, the PTO will examine this issue and determine whether it should take any further action regarding the current claims of the patent. In the event that the PTO decides further action is warranted, it may amend or revoke the claims in the patent.
The reexamination is under the direction of the PTO and we cannot speculate how long it will take. According to the PTO website, the average time it takes the PTO to decide ex parte reexaminations is roughly 24 months. The PTO's decision can be appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit before it becomes final.
Merck firmly believes that the SINGULAIR patent is valid and enforceable. We do not believe that the reexamination will affect the litigation currently pending in the U.S. between Merck and Teva.
Source: Merck & Co., Inc.
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