The Commercial Court has revoked an Irish patent for an asthma medicine commonly called Seretide, described by the court as one of the best selling drugs in the world.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton yesterday upheld a challenge to the patent, held by the Glaxo Group Ltd. The challenge was brought against Glaxo by Ivax International Bv, trading as Ivax Pharmaceuticals Ireland.
The application for the patent was filed in Ireland on September 7th, 1990, in the name of Glaxo Group Ltd in relation to “inhalation medicaments for treating respiratory disorders”. It was granted in October 1995 and an extension of the terms of protection under the patent had been granted to September 2013.
The treatment consists of an inhaler which administers simultaneous doses of two drugs, salmeterol and fluticasone propionate. In addition to the patent for the drug combination, Glaxo also holds the patents for the individual drugs that make it.
Ivax had challenged the patent granted for putting both drugs into a single preparation, arguing that combining the two drugs did not involve an inventive step.
Mr Justice Charleton yesterday agreed with Ivax that combining the two drugs did not involve an inventive step and was therefore not patentable.