Federal Circuit Walks Back Its “Exceptional” Stance on the Doctrine of Equivalents in the Latest Amgen v. Sandoz Decision
In Amgen’s long-running dispute with biosimilar-maker Sandoz over biosimilar versions of Amgen’s filgrastim (Neupogen®) and pegfilgrastim (Neulasta®) biologics, the Federal Circuit earlier this year affirmed summary judgment of no literal infringement and no infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. Amgen Inc. v. Sandoz Inc., 923 F.3d 1023 (Fed. Cir. May 8, 2019). In so holding, the panel stated that “the doctrine of equivalents applies only in exceptional cases.” Amgen petitioned for rehearing en banc, arguing that the Federal Circuit had overstated the law. According to Amgen’s petition, “[s]uch a rule is contrary to Supreme Court precedent and [Federal Circuit] precedent.” This week, the Federal Circuit course-corrected, granting Amgen’s petition without explanation for the limited purposes of removing the “exceptional” language from its prior decision.