Pediatric Exclusivity (3 of 3): Amgen v. Hargan

My last entry described the facts leading to Amgen’s suit against FDA over denial of pediatric exclusivity for Sensipar.  Below I describe what’s at issue in the case.  At bottom, this litigation relates to a federal agency developing a new standard (a new interpretation of its statute) that it will apply when ruling on applications for a benefit, after its prior interpretation suffered a defeat in federal court.  Rather than announcing the standard publicly, the plaintiff in this case argues, the agency applied the standard in non-public rulings for more than a decade.  Not only does the standard conflict with the statute, plaintiff adds, but the agency has not been consistent in its application of the standard.  Thus the dispute is more about how a federal agency is operating than it is about the law of pediatric exclusivity.

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Pediatric Exclusivity (2 of 3): Amgen v. Hargan

A prior post provided an overview of pediatric exclusivity — how it works and why it was designed this way.  This is the first of two posts describing Amgen’s suit against FDA regarding the agency’s denial of pediatric exclusivity for Sensipar (cinacalcet hydrochloride).  I’ll start, today, with the back story — the facts and Amgen’s complaint.

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Pediatric Exclusivity 101

Shortly before Alex Azar’s confirmation hearing (to be Secretary of HHS), a reporter called me with questions.  She had an angle she wanted to pursue: that Lilly had “gamed” a patent, using pediatric exclusivity, under Azar’s watch.  I explained pediatric exclusivity – what it was designed for, how it works, and how Lilly seemed to have used it precisely as designed. I mentioned the constraints that apply to company requests for pediatric exclusivity and told her that they were meaningful, mentioning Amgen’s ongoing litigation against FDA regarding exclusivity for Sensipar.

My explanation had little impact; the story ran as initially conceived.  Judge Moss ruled in the Sensipar dispute in late January, however, and Amgen has confirmed that it plans to appeal the ruling.  This is therefore the first of two posts on the issue of pediatric exclusivity.  Below I explain how pediatric exclusivity works; in the next post I will explain the Sensipar dispute.

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