[author: Sherri Oslick]

About Court Report:  Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases.

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Impax Laboratories Inc.
1:12-cv-01371; filed October 31, 2012 in the District Court of Delaware

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Par Pharmaceutical Inc.
1:12-cv-01372; filed October 31, 2012 in the District Court of Delaware

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Sandoz Inc.
1:12-cv-01373; filed October 31, 2012 in the District Court of Delaware

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Watson Laboratories Inc.-Florida et al.
1:12-cv-01374; filed October 31, 2012 in the District Court of Delaware

• Plaintiff:  Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc.
• Defendants:  Watson Laboratories Inc. – Florida; Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Watson Pharma Inc.

The complaints in these cases are substantially identical.  Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,510,726 ("Methods and Compositions for Deterring Abuse of Opioid Containing Dosage Forms,"  issued March 31, 2009) following a Paragraph IV certification as part of defendants' filing of an ANDA to manufacture a generic version of Oxecta® (oxycodone hydrochloride, used for the management of acute and chronic moderate to severe pain where the use of an opioid analgesic is appropriate, marketed by Pfizer).  View the Impax complaint here.

Esoterix Genetic Laboratories, LLC et al. v. Life Technologies Corp., et al.
1:12-cv-01173; filed October 31, 2012 in the Middle District of North Carolina

• Plaintiffs:  Esoterix Genetic Laboratories, LLC; The Johns Hopkins University
• Defendants:   Life Technologies Corp.; Applied Biosystems, LLC; Ion Torrent Systems, Inc.

Infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,440,706 (" Digital Amplification,"  issued August 27, 2002), 7,824,889 (same title, issued November 2, 2010), and 7,915,015 (same title, issued March 29, 2011) based on defendants' manufacture and sale of products, kits, and devices used in methods for the detection of ratios of genetic sequences in a biological sample and/or for the detection of allelic imbalances in a biological sample.  View the complaint here.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Roxane Laboratories, Inc.
2:12-cv-06761; filed October 26, 2012 in the District Court of New Jersey

Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,263,650 (" Microbiologically Sound and Stable Solutions of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate Salt for the Treatment of Narcolepsy,"  issued September 11, 2012) following a Paragraph IV certification as part of Roxane's filing of an ANDA to manufacture a generic version of Jazz's Xyrem® (sodium oxybate, used to treat narcolepsy).  View the complaint here.