Patricia A. Carson, Ph.D.

Butamax v. Gevo — Defended Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC against plaintiff Gevo, Inc.'s claims that Butamax's process for producing isobutanol infringed two of Gevo's patents. The judge granted summary judgment in favor of Butamax, holding that Butamax did not infringe Gevo's patents. The judge also invalidated one of the asserted patents on summary judgment for failing to comply with the written description and enablement requirements. Butamax's decisive victories on summary judgment obviated the need for trial.

ARIAD v. Eli Lilly — Represented ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and The President and Fellows of Harvard College, in their lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Company ("Lilly"), claiming infringement of their pioneering U.S. patent covering methods of treating human disease by regulating NF-kB cell-signaling activity. The jury in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts ruled unanimously in favor ARIAD et. al., finding the patent was valid and infringed by Lilly's osteoporosis drug, Evista®, and septic shock drug, Xigris® and awarded damages of approximately $65.2 million plus future damages on an ongoing basis through the patent expiration date in 2019.

Wyeth/Elan v. Kappos — Represented Wyeth (Pfizer) and Elan, in a landmark victory successfully challenging at the district court and on appeal to the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's interpretation of the statute designed to compensate patent holders for loss of patent term due to delays in processing applications. At the time of the Federal Circuit's decision affirming the district court's ruling in favor of Wyeth and Elan, more than 100 cases were pending in the U.S. District Court and waiting on the decision on appeal.

Pfizer/Wyeth v. Watson — Represented Pfizer/Wyeth against Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. over Watson's efforts to gain FDA approval to market generic sirolimus tablets, which Pfizer markets under the brand name Rapamune®. Rapamune is approved to prevent organ rejection in kidney transplant patients. The district court rejected all of Watson's invalidity theories and issued an order barring the FDA from approving Watson's generic product prior to the expiration of Pfizer's patent.

Pfizer v. Teva — Represented Pfizer against Teva Pharmaceuticals over Teva's efforts to gain FDA approval to market generic linezolid, which Pfizer markets under the brand name Zyvox®. Zyvox is a first-in-class antibiotic to treat vancomycin resistant bacterial infections. The case was resolved by settlement on favorable terms for Pfizer.

Genzyme v. TKT — Represented TKT in a patent infringement action brought by Genzyme asserting that TKT's production of its protein drug to treat Fabry disease, infringed Genzyme's patent directed to processes for making human alpha-galactosidase A. The district court ruled on summary judgment in favor of TKT (affirmed on appeal) that TKT's revolutionary gene activation technology did not infringe Genzyme's patent.

Genentech v. Amgen — Represented Genentech in a seven-year dispute regarding Genentech's pioneering patents for producing proteins recombinantly. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California by Genentech, asserted infringement by Amgen's process for producing its top selling drug, Neupogen®, used to fight infections in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The case ultimately settled and under terms of the settlement, Amgen agreed to make a one-time payment to Genentech.

Amgen v. Hoffmann-La Roche — Represented Hoffman La Roche in a patent infringement action brought by Amgen and tried before a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts relating to Roche's new synthetic drug for treating anemia. On September 15, 2009, the Federal Circuit affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the district court's ruling in favor of Amgen and the two companies subsequently entered into a settlement agreement. The agreement allows Roche to market its drug prior to the last expiration date of Amgen's asserted patents.

Kaye Scholer LLP (Partner)

Clifford Chance U.S. (Partner)