Last week I predicted that the High Court would affirm the finding of five judges of the Federal Court of Australia that AstraZenenca’s patents covering low-dosage forms of the cholesterol-lowering drug marketed as CRESTOR (having the active ingredient rosuvastatin) are invalid on grounds of obviousness.In the much-anticipated decision in AstraZeneca AB v Apotex Pty Ltd (et al) [2015] HCA 30, five judges of the High Court, in four distinct concurring opinions, have unanimously fulfilled that prediction. In doing so, they have successfully disappointed anybody who was hoping for some interesting developments in the law of obviousness in Australia, and gladdened the hearts of those who value certainty and stability in the law, notwithstanding that there may be opportunities for improvement.There were two issues before the High Court. Firstly there was what I have previously called the ‘selection’ question. The law applicable to the rosuvastatin…
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