On August 24, 2017, in Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Civ. No. 17-435-RGA, Judge Richard G. Andrews ruled that it would be inappropriate to add plaintiff’s Global Head of IP as an in-house designee under the protective order, finding that such person was a competitive decision maker. See previous Order here. On December 11, 2017, however, Judge Andrews changed course, granting plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration and allowing plaintiff’s designee access to Defendant’s ANDA and ANDA-related material. Judge Andrews found that this was a close question, but credited the designee’s declaration and the fact that a “two-year post-litigation bar from relevant prosecution activities (including supervisory responsibility for those activities) ma[de] the risk of inadvertent disclosure acceptably low, while at the same time allowing [the designee] to do his job of ‘overseeing and managing this litigation.'”
Ferring Pharms Inc. v. Teva Pharms USA, Inc., No. 17-435-RGA (D. Del. Dec. 11, 2017)
Delaware IP Law Blog 