by  Darren Crew

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently issued a much anticipated en banc decision regarding the written description requirement of U.S. patents.

On March 22, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed that the written description requirement is separate from the enablement requirement. Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co., No. 2008-1248.

Previously, Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“Ariad”) sued Eli Lilly and Co. (“Lilly”) in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, alleging that Lilly infringed Ariad’s U.S. Patent No. 6,410,516. On May 4, 2006, there was a jury verdict in favor of Ariad, noting that Lilly infringed the patent due to sales of Lilly’s drugs Evista® and Xigris®. Lilly was ordered to pay $65 million. Lilly then appealed to the CAFC.–click here to read more—