In a split decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision of the District of Delaware holding, after a bench trial, that West-Ward Pharmaceuticals International Ltd. and West-Ward Pharmaceuticals Corp. subsidiary (now known as Hikma Pharmaceuticals International Ltd. and Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.) (collectively, “West-Ward” or “Hikma”) induced infringement of asserted claims of a patent for methods of treating schizophrenia. The appeals court also affirmed the district court’s determination that the patent-in-suit was not invalid, and its grant of injunctive relief to the patent’s owner, Aventisub LLC, and its exclusive licensee, Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (collectively, “Vanda”). Chief Judge Sharon Prost wrote in dissent, opining that the patentin- suit was directed to an ineligible law of nature (Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. West-Ward Pharmaceuticals International Ltd., April 13, 2018, Sleet, G.).
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