The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Restasis patent facts for kids
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharms. Inc., 896 F.3d 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2018) is a United States Patent case, decided by the CAFC, deciding whether or not indigenous tribes' sovereign immunity extended to patent lawsuits. In September 2017, the American pharmaceutical company Allergan agreed to transfer six pharmaceutical patents for the ophthalmic form of the drug Restasis to the St. Regis tribe of the Mohawk people. At the time, the St. Regis tribe viewed this blockbuster deal as a new, viable supply of income outside of their primary source, the gambling industry. Following the deal, Allergan received an onslaught of criticism from outside companies and politicians such as Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who said that the deal, "'impair[s] competition across the pharmaceutical industry.'"
Aftermath
Following the court hearing, Allergan and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe referenced the Collateral Order Doctrine in court to appeal the case verdict prior to a final decision. A stay (a pause in legal proceedings) was placed on the review of the Restasis patents by PTAB. The stay was granted to Allergan and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe immediately after the court appeal on the application of sovereign immunity to the Restasis patents. The appeals court heard oral arguments for the protection of the Restasis patents. The Supreme Court issued a final verdict in the case in April of 2019 that the Restasis patents cannot have sovereign protection from IPR. It is expected that generic versions of the Restasis drug will hit the market. Wall Street analyst Ronny Gal predicts that the Restasis drug "will lose half its revenue this year".
