Ex Parte Cloyd et alDownload PDFPatent Trial and Appeal BoardDec 15, 201613547866 (P.T.A.B. Dec. 15, 2016) Copy Citation United States Patent and Trademark Office UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O.Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 13/547,866 07/12/2012 James Cloyd 2205889.00127US2 5399 28089 7590 12/19/2016 WTT MFRHAT F./NF.W YORK EXAMINER 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER JIANG, SHAOJIA A 250 GREENWICH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10007 ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 1673 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 12/19/2016 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): whipusptopairs@wilmerhale.com teresa.maia@wilmerhale.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD Ex parte JAMES CLOYD, ANGELA BIRNBAUM, ILO LEPPIK, and STEPHEN D. COLLINS Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 Technology Center 1600 Before JEFFREY N. FREDMAN, TIMOTHY G. MAJORS, and KRISTI L. R. SAWERT, Administrative Patent Judges. FREDMAN, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON APPEAL This is an appeal1 under 35U.S.C. § 134 involving claims to a parenteral method of administering a carbamazepine sulfoalkyl-cyclodextrin composition. The Examiner rejected the claims as obvious. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b). We reverse. 1 Appellants identify the Real Party in Interest as Lundbeck LLC (see App. Br. 2). Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 Statement of the Case Background “Carbamazepine ... is a widely used antiepileptic agent. It is available in the U.S. as Tegretol’ brand chewable tablets . . . intended for oral administration as a treatment for epilepsy or as a specific analgesic for trigeminal neuralgia” (Spec. 12). “The absence of an intravenous formulation places patients treated with carbamazepine (sometimes referred to herein as CBZ) at substantial medical risk. Sudden discontinuation of CBZ therapy for whatever reason, can expose an individual to potentially life threatening seizure emergencies” (Spec. 1 8). “The carbamazepine-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes of the present invention satisfy a significant unmet medical need for a stable injectable formulation of carbamazepine that overcomes the limitations of poorly soluble and variably absorbed oral formulations” (Spec. 115). The Claims Claims 1^1, 7, 8, 10-13, 16, 17, 2A-29, 37, 38, 41, 45, 46, and 49-58 are on appeal. Independent claim 1 is representative and reads as follows: 1. A method of administering a carbamazepine sulfoalkyl- cyclodextrin composition to a human in need thereof comprising, a) providing a carbamazepine sulfoalkyl-cyclodextrin composition, and b) parenterally infusing said composition to said human, wherein the composition is administered as a replacement for oral carbamazepine in a dose of about 30% to about 100% of the human’s oral maintenance dose. 2 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 The Issue The Examiner rejected claims 1—4, 7, 8, 10—13, 16, 17, 24—29, 37, 38, 41, 45, 46, and 49—58 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious Brewster,2 Stella,3 Thompson,4 Bodor,5 Becirevic-Lacan,6 and Ansel7 (Ans. 2—13). The Examiner finds Brewster teaches “the development of aqueous parenteral formulations for carbamazepine through the use of modified cyclodextrins” (Ans. 2). The Examiner acknowledges that Brewster does “not expressly disclose a carbamazepine/CD complex wherein the cyclodextrin is a sulfoalkyl cyclodextrin” (Ans. 4). The Examiner finds Stella teaches “sulfoalkyl ether cyclodextrin derivatives and their use as solubilizing agents for water insoluble drugs for oral, intranasal, or parenteral administration” (Ans. 4). The Examiner finds Thompson teaches “sulfobutyl ether and hydroxypropyl [3-CDs are incorporated into approved parenteral products” (Ans. 5). The Examiner finds Bodor “teaches a method of improving the oral bioavailability of carbamazepine using complexes of the drug with selected 2 Brewster et al., Development of Aqueous Parenteral Formulations for Carbamazepine through the Use of Modified Cyclodextrins, 80 J. Pharmaceutical Sciences 380-383 (1991) (“Brewster”). 3 Stella et al., US 5,134,127, issued July 28, 1992 (“Stella”). 4 Thompson and Chaubal, Cyclodextrins (CDS) — Excipients by Definition, Drug Delivery Systems by Function (Parti: Injectable Applications), 2 Drug Delivery Technology 34, 36, 38 (2002) (“Thompson”). 5 Bodor, N., US 5,231,089, issued July 27, 1993 (“Bodor”). 6 Becirevic-Lacan et al., Development of o/w emulsion formulation for carbamazepine by using modified cyclodextrins, 52 Acta Pharm. 149—159 (2002) (“Becirevic-Lacan”). 7 Ansel et al., Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery Systems 23—59 (Donna Balado ed., 1999) (“Ansel”). 3 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 cyclodextrin derivatives” (Ans. 6). The Examiner finds Becirevic-Lacan teaches “development of o/w emulsion formulation for carbamazepine by using modified cyclodextrins” (Ans. 6). The Examiner finds Ansel teaches the “schedule of dosage, or the dosage regimen, is determined during the clinical investigation and is based largely on a drug’s inherent duration of action, its pharmacokinetics, and the characteristics of the dosage form” (Ans. 7). The Examiner finds it obvious to substitute the HP-[3-CD in the carbamazepine composition taught by Brewster et al. with a SBE[3CD as disclosed in the Stella ’127 patent, in order to receive the expected benefit, as disclosed in the Stella ’127 patent, that the phase solubility behavior of their disclosed sulfoalkyl derivatives showed it to be five times greater than that for HP[3CD. . . . One of ordinary skill in the art would have a reasonable expectation of success since Thompson et al. teach that both sulfobutyl ether and hydroxypropyl [3-CDs are incorporated into approved parenteral products. (Ans. 8-9). The issue with respect to this rejection is: Does the evidence of record support the Examiner’s conclusion that the prior art render the claims obvious? Findings of Fact 1. Brewster teaches Carbamazepine (CBZ) has become the world’s most used anticonvulsant agent.... Unfortunately, monotherapy is not possible with CBZ when a parenteral dosage form is required since no iv formulation is currently available. The basis for this deficit is the extremely poor water solubility of the drug. In order to provide a parenteral formulation of CBZ for 4 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 circumstances where such administration would be advantageous in pediatric and emergency medicine and in managing the epileptic surgical patient, the development of aqueous formulations of CBZ was undertaken. In this study, chemically modified J3- and y-cyclodextrins were considered. (Brewster 380, col. 1). 2. Brewster teaches “an aqueous CBZ:HPpCD complex could serve as a viable and effective parenteral dosage form for CBZ” (Brewster 383, col. 2). 3. Stella teaches the “use of cyclodextrins in the clinical setting is limited to oral and topical dosage forms as the cyclodextrins exhibit nephrotoxicity upon entering the body unmetabolized” (Stella 2:46-49). 4. Stella teaches the “sulfoalkyl cyclodextrin derivatives of the invention exhibited no observable toxic effects” (Stella 13:42-43). 5. Thompson teaches “modified cyclodextrins, sulfobutyl ether (SBE-P-CD) and hydroxypropyl (HP-P-CD) derivatives were developed to improve the solubilizing capacity by increasing the overall solubility of the CD and to improve the systemic safety of the CDs. . . . Both SBE-P-CD and HP-P-CD are incorporated into approved parenteral products” (Thompson 36, col. 2). 6. Bodor teaches for “complex partial seizures (temporal lobe, psychomotor), carbamazepine is considered the anticonvulsant drug of choice” (Bodor 1:35—37). 7. Bodor teaches “[bjecause of the lack of an injectable formulation for carbamazepine, there has not been precise information relating to the drug’s absolute bioavailability” (Bodor 3:14—16). 5 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 8. Becirevic-Lacan teaches the “method that has increased carbamazepine aqueous solubility, dissolution rate and bioavailability is cyclodextrin complexation” (Becirevic-Lacan 150). 9. Ansel teaches “in many instances, a lower parenteral (injectable) dose of a drug is required than the oral dose to achieve the same blood levels or clinical effects” (Ansel 53, col. 1). Principles of Law “The combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results.” KSRInt’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007). Prima facie obviousness can be rebutted by presenting evidence of secondary considerations and when such evidence is submitted, all of the evidence must be considered anew. In re Piasecki, 745 F.2d 1468, 1472— 1473 (Fed. Cir. 1984). Secondary considerations include: long-felt but unsolved needs, failure of others, unexpected results, commercial success, copying, licensing, and praise. In re Rouffet, 149 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 1998). Analysis We adopt the Examiner’s findings regarding the scope and content of the prior art (Ans. 2—13) and agree with the Examiner’s initial determination that the method of parenterally administering a carbamazepine sulfoalkyl- cyclodextrin composition would have been prima facie obvious in view of the cited references taken alone. Appellants present arguments disputing the Examiner’s case of obviousness on the references alone, but we do not find it necessary to address these arguments since, as discussed below, we 6 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 conclude that the secondary consideration evidence of long felt need has successfully rebutted the Examiner’s prima facie case. To establish a long-felt need, three elements must be proven: First, the need must have been a persistent one that was recognized by ordinarily skilled artisans. In re Gershon, 372 F.2d 535, 538 (CCPA 1967). Second, the long-felt need must not have been satisfied by another before Appellants’ invention. See Newell Companies, Inc. v. Kenney Mfg. Co., 864 F.2d 757, 768 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (“[OJnce another supplied the key element, there was no long-felt need or, indeed, a problem to be solved . . . .”). Third, the invention must, in fact, satisfy the long-felt need. In re Cavanagh, 436 F.2d 491,496 (CCPA 1971). The first element, that there was a persistent need, is established through the teachings of Brewster, Bodor, and the Schachter and Cloyd Declarations.8,9 Brewster and Bodor evidence that parenteral forms of carbamazepine were not available as of their publication dates (FF 1,7). The Schachter Declaration evidences that as of 2012 “[pjatients experiencing status epilepticus do not have CBZ available as an intravenous formulation. In these cases, patients who do not respond to other intravenous antiepileptic drugs often die” (Schachter Deck 111). The Schachter Declaration further states “clinicians, including myself, who treat epileptic patients have long considered a parenteral CBZ formulation as an unmet medical need in several different circumstances” (Schachter Deck 113). The Cloyd Declaration states “[ujntil now, no intravenous CBZ 8 Declaration of Dr. Steven C. Schachter, dated Sept. 10, 2012. 9 Declaration of Dr. James Cloyd, dated Sept. 25, 2013. 7 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 formulation has been available for patients on oral CBZ therapy. Patients on oral CBZ who are unable to take the drug by mouth and, therefore, require an injectable formulation must switch to an alternate antiepileptic drug” (Cloyd Decl. 113). The Cloyd Declaration states that “the epilepsy community has considered the availability of a parenteral CBZ formulation as a long-standing, unmet medical need” (Cloyd Decl. 115). The second element of long felt need is whether the long felt need was satisfied by the prior art. While Brewster suggested parenteral cyclodextrin carbamazepine compositions in 1991 (FF 2) and Brewster 199710 teaches “a cyclodextrin-based formulation of CBZ may provide an acceptable parenteral formulations” (Brewster 1997 339, col. 1), there is no evidence suggesting that the hydroxypropyl-P-cyclodextrin-based formulation of carbamazepine were used for parenteral human therapies prior to the instant application date. The situation can be compared to that in Monarch, where a district court found “evidence of a long-felt need” but “concluded that it was not an unsolved need because at least two companies had already designed low- profile needles before the . . . priority filing date.” Monarch Knitting Mach. Corp. v. Sulzer Morat GmbH, 139 F.3d 877, 883 (Fed. Cir. 1998). The Federal Circuit vacated the district court’s determination, finding that because neither prior art needle design was commercially available, the evidence “raise[d] a reasonable inference that these two designs were 10 Brewster et al., Intravenous and Oral Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of a 2- Hydroxypropyl-f-cyclodextrin-Based Formulation of Carbamazepine in the Dog: Comparison with Commercially Available Tablets and Suspensions, 86 J. Pharmaceutical Sciences 335—339 (1997) (“Brewster 1997”). 8 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 isolated and failed to satisfy the long-felt need that existed at large.” Id. at 884. Here, the evidence of record supports a finding that no parenteral carbamazepine formulations were available as of Sept. 25, 2013 (see Cloyd Decl. 113), and therefore that the Brewster disclosures did not satisfy the long-felt need for a parenteral cyclodextrin carbamazepine composition. The final element is whether the invention does, in fact, satisfy the long-felt need. We take official notice of the fact that the FDA approved Appellants’ CARNEXIV (carbamazepine) injection as replacement therapy for oral carbamazepine formulations on October 7, 2016.11 We further take official notice of the fact that “Camexiv is the first intravenous formulation of carbamazepine, and it is expected to be available in the United States in early 2017” (Vermes12 1). We recognize, but find unpersuasive, the Examiner’s assertion that “there must be a showing that others of ordinary skill in the art were working on the problem and if so, for how long” (Ans. 15). In this case, the evidence clearly demonstrates that others began working on the problem at least as early as the publication of Brewster in 1991 without producing a commercial embodiment prior to the instant filing date of July 12, 2012, a 11 FDA, http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/appletter/ 2016/2060300rigls0001tr.pdf (accessed Dec. 9, 2016) (“FDA”). 12 Vermes, K., FDA Approves Carnexiv Injection as Short-Term Replacement Treatment for Oral Carbamazepine, http://www.pharmacytimes.com/product-news/fda-approves-camexiv- injection-as-short-term-replacement-treatment-for-oral-carbamazepine (Oct. 20, 2016) (accessed Dec. 9, 2016) (“Vermes”). 9 Appeal 2014-007949 Application 13/547,866 twenty-one year gap (and a fourteen-year gap before the filing of the earliest provisional application US 60/722,692 in this series on Sept. 30, 2005). Therefore, we find the evidence supports Appellants’ position that the secondary consideration of long-felt need is established and rebuts the Examiner’sprima facie case. Conclusion of Law The evidence of record fails to support the Examiner’s conclusion that the prior art render the claims obvious. SUMMARY In summary, we reverse the rejection of claims 1—4, 7, 8, 10-13, 16, 17, 24—29, 37, 38, 41, 45, 46, and 49-58 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious Brewster, Stella, Thompson, Bodor, Becirevic-Lacan, and Ansel. REVERSED 10 Notice of References Cited Application/Control No. 13/547,866 Applicant(s)/Patent Under Reexamination James Cloyd et al. Examiner Anna Jiang Art Unit 1600 Page 1 of 1 U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS * DOCUMENT NO. DATE NAME CLASS SUBCLASS DOCUMENT SOURCE ** APS OTHER □ A □ □ □ B □ □ □ C □ □ □ D □ □ □ E □ □ □ F □ □ □ G □ □ □ H □ □ □ 1 □ □ □ J □ □ □ K □ □ □ L □ □ □ M □ □ FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS * DOCUMENT NO. DATE COUNTRY NAME CLASS SUBCLASS DOCUMENT SOURCE** APS OTHER □ N □ □ □ O □ □ □ P □ □ □ Q □ □ □ R □ □ □ S □ □ □ T □ □ NON-PATENT DOCUMENTS * DOCUMENT (Including Author, Title Date, Source, and Pertinent Pages) DOCUMENT SOURCE ** APS OTHER □ U FDA, http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/appletter/ 2016/2060300rigls0001tr.pdf (accessed Dec. 9, 2016). □ □ □ V Vermes, K., FDA Approves Carnexiv Injection as Short-Term Replacement Treatment for Oral Carbamazepine, http://www.pharmacytimes.com/product-news/fda-approves- camexiv-injection-as-short-term-replacement-treatment-for-oral-carbamazepine (Oct. 20, 2016) (accessed Dec. 9, 2016). □ □ □ w □ □ □ X □ □ *A copy of this reference is not being furnished with this Office action. (See Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Section 707.05(a).) **APS encompasses any electronic search i.e. text, image, and Commercial Databases. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office PTO-892 (Rev. 03-98Notice of References Cited Part of Paper No. 16 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration Silver Spring MD 20993 NDA 206030 Lundbeck LLC Attention: Wendy Tian Sr. Director, US Regulatory Affairs Six Parkway North Suite 400 Deerfield, IL 60015 NDA APPROVAL Dear Ms. Tian: Please refer to your New Drug Application (NDA) dated December 20, 2013, received December 23, 2013, and your amendments, submitted pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for CARNEXIV (carbamazepine) injection 200 mg/20 mL (10 mg/mL). We acknowledge receipt of your amendment dated April 8, 2016, which constituted a complete response to our October 23, 2014, action letter. This new drug application provides for the use of CARNEXIV (carbamazepine) injection as replacement therapy for oral carbamazepine formulations, when oral administration is temporarily not feasible, in adults with the following seizure types: • Partial seizures with complex symptomology • Generalized clonic-tonic seizures • Mixed seizure patterns which include the above or other partial or generalized seizures. We have completed our review of this application, as amended. It is approved, effective on the date of this letter, for use as recommended in the enclosed agreed-upon labeling text. CARTON AND IMMEDIATE CONTAINER LABELS Submit final printed carton and immediate container labels that are identical to the carton and immediate container labels submitted on August 10, 2016, as soon as they are available, but no more than 30 days after they are printed. Please submit these labels electronically according to the guidance for industry Providing Regulatory Submissions in Electronic Format —Human Pharmaceutical Product Applications and Related Submissions Using the eCTD Specifications (June 2008). Alternatively, you may submit 12 paper copies, with 6 of the copies individually mounted on heavy-weight paper or similar material. For administrative purposes, designate this submission “Final Printed Carton and Container Labels for approved NDA 206030” Approval of this submission by FDA is not required before the labeling is used. Reference ID: 3996801 NDA 206030 Page 2 Marketing the product(s) with FPL that is not identical to the approved labeling text may render the product misbranded and an unapproved new drug. REQUIRED PEDIATRIC ASSESSMENTS Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) (21 U.S.C. 355c), all applications for new active ingredients, new indications, new dosage forms, new dosing regimens, or new routes of administration are required to contain an assessment of the safety and effectiveness of the product for the claimed indication(s) in pediatric patients unless this requirement is waived, deferred, or inapplicable. Because this drug product for this indication has an orphan drug designation, you are exempt from this requirement. PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS You may request advisory comments on proposed introductory advertising and promotional labeling. To do so, submit, in triplicate, a cover letter requesting advisory comments, the proposed materials in draft or mock-up form with annotated references, and the package insert, Medication Guide, and patient PI (as applicable) to: OPDP Regulatory Project Manager Food and Drug Administration Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of Prescription Drug Promotion 5901-B Ammendale Road Beltsville, MD 20705-1266 Alternatively, you may submit a request for advisory comments electronically in eCTD format. For more information about submitting promotional materials in eCTD format, see the draft Guidance for Industry (available at: http://www.fda.g0v/downloads/Drues/GuidanceComplianceReeulatoryInfom1ation/Guidances/U CM443 702'pdf') As required under 21 CFR 314.81(b)(3)(i), you must submit final promotional materials, and the package insert, at the time of initial dissemination or publication, accompanied by a Form FDA 2253. Form FDA 2253 is available at http://www.fda.gov/dowiiloads/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsFonns/Eorms/UCMGS3570.pdf. Information and Instructions for completing the form can be found at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Forms/UCM375154.pdf. For more information about submission of promotional materials to the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP), see http:/7www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersQffices/CDER/ucm090142.htm. Reference ID: 3996801 NDA 206030 Page 3 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS We remind you that you must comply with reporting requirements for an approved NDA (21 CFR 314.80 and 314.81). If you have any questions, contact E. Andrew Papanastasiou, Regulatory Project Manager, by email at emilios.papa.nastasiou@fda.hhs.gov or by phone at (301) 796-1930. Sincerely, Eric Bastings, MD Deputy Director Division of Neurology Products Office of Drug Evaluation I Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Enclosure: Content of Labeling Reference ID: 3996801 This is a representation of an electronic record that was signed electronically and this page is the manifestation of the electronic signature. Is/ ERIC P BASTINGS 10/07/2016 Reference ID: 3996801 FDA Approves Carnexiv Injection as Short-Term | Replacement Treatment for Oral Carbamazepine ^ OCTOBER 20, 2016 ll Krystle Vermes The FDA has approved Lundbeck’s Carnexiv, also known as carbamazepine, as a short-term (<7 days) intravenous replacement treatment for adults with certain seizure types who cannot take the oral form of carbamazepine. Carnexiv is the first intravenous formulation of carbamazepine, and it is expected to be available in the United States in early 2017. Patients who experience partial seizures with complex symptomatology, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, or mixed seizure patterns, which may include the above, or other partial or generalized seizures, may be treated with Carnexiv. Those who receive Carnexiv face an increased risk of serious dermatologic reactions during treatment, such as toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome, as well as a risk of aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis. “Carbamazepine has been an important treatment standard for people with epilepsy, but oral administration isn't always possible, especially during hospitalizations or other circumstances where they are temporarily unable to take medication by mouth,’’ said Peter Anastasiou, president of Lundbeck, in a press release. “As part of Lundbeck’s ongoing commitment to the epilepsy community, we are proud to offer Carnexiv to help meet the need for continuity of care for these patients.’’ When switching from oral carbamazepine, the total daily dose of Carnexiv should be 70% of the total daily dose of oral carbamazepine. In addition, it should be divided equally into 4 separate 30-minute infusions separated by 6 hours. 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