Biotech Values

[zipjet]

what i don't know is discovery in a patent case specifically, especially when most of the information is readily available - in the form of the ANDA applicatiion and related correspondence with the FDA

No doubt there will be a lot of info in the ANDA filing and all the submissions. That alone will take many man-years to absorb and sumarize. But there will also be tens of thousands of internal emails, dozens of witnesses to depose.

Unlike a normal law suit seeking damages, the TRO and PI are done very early and are critical (at least historically) to doing justice in a patent case.

So if counsel for MNTA/Sandoz are to be expected to present their case for TRO and PI early, a judge may want to give them this time before approval to do discovery.

IF I were the judge, I would be inclined to warn TEVA that to the extent they prevail upon me in slowing discovery, at a time when it cannot interfere with their commercial rights, that I would be more inclined to grant the TRO to make up the time to the litigant who needs to present their side of the case - a case where much of the information is exclusively in the hands of the opposing party.

I bet that would get their attention.



BTW - I am again venturing off into an area in which I am unqualified. I did have a patent law course in law school some 35 years ago.

So some of the real patent lawyers can feel free to correct me.

ij