Ceva Santé Animale SA prevailed yesterday in its lengthy ongoing multi-jurisdictional patent battle with Bayer. Bayer’s European patent EP 2 164 496 was directed to a combination of toltrazuril and iron for the treatment of neonatal piglets.
Bayer had aggressively asserted the patent against Ceva’s innovative Forceris product in a large number of jurisdictions. The patent was yesterday revoked by the Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office for lack of inventive step. The decision of the Board of Appeal, which overturned the earlier decision of the opposition division, is applicable immediately. The decision of the Board is consistent with the decisions of a number of national Courts (including the French, Dutch and more recently the German Court of Appeal) in preliminary injunction proceedings, all of which were skeptical about the validity or the scope of Bayer’s patent.
Ceva Santé Animale SA was represented by HOYNG ROKH MONEGIER.