SCOTUS Grills Brand, Generic On Secret Sales And Patent Filing Clock

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday (Dec. 4) in a case that pits brands versus generics over whether secret sales of drugs trigger the one-year countdown to file a patent. Justices questioned both sides in Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals on how to interpret a phrase in the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Generic drug lobby group Association for Accessible Medicines argued in an amicus brief that not imposing the one-year patent filing requirement after secret sales could...