The Federal Court has handed down its findings in the case brought by class action representative Mr Graeme Peterson against Merck Sharpe & Dohme in which it was alleged that Vioxx contributed to Mr Peterson’s heart attack, and that Merck had intentionally downplayed the cardiovascular risks which were associated with the drug. 

Late last year, the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP) released its interim report on Post-Grant Patent Enforcement Strategies — our earlier post on that report can be found here. 

Australian biotech company Genetic Technologies (GTG) has commenced proceedings in the United States against nine other life sciences companies which it says are exploiting GTG’s patented non-coding (or “junk”) DNA technology without GTG’s permission.