Juanita R. Brooks

Last year, Brooks scored major wins for her clients in two high-profile cases.

She successfully represented Allergan Inc. in a Hatch-Waxman case involving its glaucoma drug Lumigan, which does approximately $600 million a year in sales for the company.

In January, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider of the Eastern District of Texas ruled in Allergan's favor that all five of its patents were valid and infringed, and he enjoined the generic drug companies from entering the market until the expiration of the last patent in 2027. Allergan Inc. v. Sandoz Inc., et al., 11-441 (E.D. Texas, filed Aug. 26, 2011).

One thorny element of the case was that Allergan had previously developed a higher-dose version of the drug.

"It was a challenge to convince the court that going with the same drug, only at a lower dosage, while maintaining efficacy, is something new and novel and not obvious," Brooks said.

But it was the other side's burden to prove obviousness, she added.

"We were able to get significant concessions from their experts, and the district court relied heavily on that in finding in our favor," she said.

In July 2013, Brooks had another major victory in an almost decade-long battle between client Fresenius Medical Care Holdings Inc. and Baxter International Inc. Fresenius USA Inc. v. Baxter International Inc., 12-1334 (Fed. Cir., filed July 2, 2013).

Fresenius had been facing a $23.5 million lower court judgment in favor of Baxter involving the alleged infringement of a patent for a hemodialysis machine.

The Federal Circuit held that since the claims had been found invalid by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and because that finding had been upheld by the Federal Circuit, Baxter couldn't collect a judgment on claims that had been invalidated and canceled.

- Pat Broderick