by Dennis Crouch
The Federal Circuit recently affirmed the invalidity of several Purdue Pharma patents related to abuse-deterrent and low-impurity formulations of OxyContin. Purdue Pharma L.P. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., No. 2023-1953 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 30, 2024). Although non-precedential, the appeal addresses three significant legal questions in obviousness jurisprudence: (1) The consideration given to discovering the source of a previously known problem under Eibel Process Co. v. Minnesota & Ontario Paper Co. (1923); and (2) how inherent properties of prior art compositions factor into obviousness analysis when combining multiple references similar to the Cytiva decision from earlier in 2024.
