Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (UK) Limited v Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Facts

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (UK) Limited is the claimant in patent proceedings in the Patents Court against Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Boehringer Ingelheim Limited, with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. joined as second Part 20 defendant. The judgment does not describe the patent or the pleaded claims in any detail, but it concerns empagliflozin and a wider group of compounds. Dr. Reddy's runs an ab initio implausibility argument. Boehringer wishes to rely on results for a wider clutch of compounds which were not in the patent application as filed, in the event that a higher court changes the law on plausibility. The compounds correspond to those listed in the application and in a Boehringer letter to the European Patent Office, which is the subject of an amended CEA Notice. A further notice, referred to as the September CEA Notice, sought to put in evidence that the broader class was made and tested. Disputes arose at the pre-trial review over whether that material should be excluded, including whether Boehringer had adequately pleaded the facts on which it relied. The judgment is a short ruling given at the pre-trial review, with outline reasons only.