Angered by a controversial Allergan (AGN) patent maneuver, a handful of lawmakers introduced a bill that would prohibit tribal sovereign immunity from being used to block certain types of patent challenges.
The move comes six months after Allergan transferred six patents for its best-selling Restasis eye treatment to the St. Regis Mohawk tribe, which has sovereign immunity and has attempted to use its status to block patent challenges filed by several generic drug makers.
These types of challenges — which are known as inter partes reviews and are heard by a special patent appeals board, not a court — have frustrated drug makers since they were authorized six five years ago, because they’re easier and faster to file than more conventional lawsuits.
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