Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences

Canada takes major steps toward enhanced biosimilar access

Over the last month, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health and the Government of British Columbia have taken significant steps to...

When it comes to what you can patent, patent offices don’t always know best

In its decision in Cleveland Clinic, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated an issued patent directed to a medical diagnostic method,...

The first steps taken at the Canadian pharmaceutical patent dance

J Bradley White and Nathaniel Lipkus of Osler analyse the changes introduced by the amendments to the PMNOC Regulations.

Federal Court of Appeal infuses greater certainty into the Canadian obviousness analysis

In Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited v SNF Inc., 2017 FCA 225, the Federal Court of Appeal suggests that trial courts may have...

Welcome to the Canadian pharmaceutical patent dance

For nearly 25 years, Canada’s Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations have been the cornerstone of pharmaceutical patent litigation...

Canada’s patent linkage regulations get long-awaited makeover

On July 15, 2017, the Government of Canada proposed major amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, the patent linkage...

Supreme Court holds that promises are not the yardstick to measure patent utility in Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada issued its highly anticipated reasons in AstraZeneca v Apotex 2017 SCC 36. The Supreme Court rejected the “promise...

Federal Court of Appeal provides much-needed clarity on the “obvious to try” test and meaning of “inventive concept”

The Federal Court of Appeal has provided clarity and guidance on two critical points in Canadian patent law: the meaning of “inventive concept”...

Canada’s NAFTA arbitration victory is a win for sovereignty and fair trade

President Trump beat up on NAFTA to secure votes in the US election. Now that he is President, he has put the trade agreement on the chopping block,...

Superior Court confirms the validity of royalties paid by a pharmacist to its franchisor

Article 49 of the Code of ethics of pharmacists (the Code) precludes pharmacists from sharing profits from the sale of medications or from their fees...