Toronto advises Innovative Medicines Canada in C$150m AstraZeneca hearing

Our Toronto office represented and obtained intervention status for Innovative Medicines Canada before the Supreme Court of Canada in the hearing of AstraZeneca Canada Inc. et al v. Apotex Inc., involving AstraZeneca’s appeal on the invalidation of its patent for NEXIUM (esomeprazole) for lacking patented utility. In a judgment that reverses years of jurisprudence in the lower courts, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the level of utility required of a Canadian patent must not be measured by statements in the specification. This judgment brings Canadian law more closely in line with that of our international trading partners and is a significant win for patentees and pharmaceutical innovation in Canada. The team was led by Kristin Wall.