Wyeth & Cordis Corp. v. Abbott Labs., No. 12-1223 (Fed. Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseWyeth’s patents relate to the use of rapamycin for treatment and prevention of restenosis, the renarrowing of an artery. To open a blocked artery, a doctor guides a balloon catheter to the site of accumulated plaque and inflates the balloon to crush the plaque. As the balloon inflates it may cause injury to the arterial wall that leads to restenosis. The claims recite a method of treating or preventing “restenosis ... which comprises administering an antirestenosis effective amount of rapamycin.” In general, “rapamycin” may refer to a class of compounds; the parties agree that the specification discloses only one rapamycin species, sirolimus. In Wyeth’s infringement action, the district court adopted Wyeth’s proposed construction of “rapamycin,” but entered summary judgment, finding the patents invalid for nonenablement. The Federal Circuit affirmed, finding that the specification does not enable one of ordinary skill to practice the asserted claims without undue experimentation.
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