In Brief: Sepracor
Executive Summary
Sepracor: Patent office declares an interference between certain claims of Sepracor's method-of-use patent on fexofenadine, which Hoechst Marion Roussel markets as Allegra, and certain claims of a patent filed by Hoechst in 1992. Sepracor's patent was issued in 1994 and expires in 2012. The company licensed its patent to Hoechst in exchange for milestones and future royalties. The royalties will begin with expiration of the composition-of-matter patent on fexofenadine in 2001. Sepracor said it believes its common claims will survive the review but that if Hoechst prevails, certain royalty obligations may terminate...