Patel Quoted on Drop in ANDA Patent Litigation in 2020

Hatch-Waxman and Biosimilars Practice Group Co-Leader Sailesh Patel was quoted on the drop in patent suits over abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) since the start of 2020 compared to the same time last year.

Sal said the drop may be due to pharmaceutical companies shifting efforts from generic drug development to the COVID-19 pandemic response.

"A lot of companies who would be focusing their resources on filing ANDAs as their regular and routine business have been diverting some of those resources to handle the COVID crisis, ramp up medications to treat COVID and develop COVID medications,” he said.

The number of Hatch-Waxman complaints filed in 2020 compared to those filed in the first three quarters of 2019 dropped by 29 percent.

In addition to diverting resources, Sal suggested that COVID-related quarantines and stay-at-home orders have also played a role in the decline of ANDA suits.  But companies will likely catch up in filings later this year or by early next year.

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