(November 17, 2014) The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court’s denial of Antares Pharma, Inc.’s (“Antares”) motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin Medac Pharma, Inc. and Medac GMBH (collectively, “Medac”) from infringing U.S. Patent No. RE44,846 (a reissue patent of U.S. Patent No. 7,776,015).  U.S. Patent No. RE44,846, entitled “Needle assisted jet injector,” states that it is “directed to a device for delivery of a medicament, and in particularly to a jet injector with a short needle to reduce the pressure at which the jet injector must eject the medicament for proper delivery.”  Figure 1 from the patent is illustrated below:

The Federal Circuit held the reissue claims were invalid “for failure to comply with the ‘original patent’ requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 251.”  According to the Court, to satisfy the “Original Patent” requirement, the original patent’s specification “must clearly and unequivocally disclose the newly claimed invention as a separate invention.”  The opinion stated that Antares’ original patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,776,015) claimed jet injection devices and Antares broadened its claims to cover any “injection device” on reissue and that any hints, suggestions, or indications in the specification to other means of injection were not enough to save the reissue claims.