Supreme Court Announces Briefing Schedule in Amgen v. Sandoz

The Supreme Court has ordered a briefing schedule in Amgen v. Sandoz. Because the Court granted and consolidated Sandoz’s petition and Amgen’s conditional cross-petition, the Court has adopted a four-brief schedule, comparable to the procedure used in the courts of appeals.

According to the order, the briefing schedule will be as follows:

  • February 10, 2017: Sandoz’s opening brief due. Sandoz will submit its opening brief of up to 15,000 words on the question of whether the BPCIA notice of commercial marketing can be given before FDA approval.
  • February 17, 2017: Briefs of amicus curiae in support of Sandoz or in support of neither party due.
  • March 10, 2017: Amgen’s response due. Amgen will submit a consolidated brief of up to 19,000 words responding to Sandoz’s opening brief and opening on the question of whether the BPCIA patent dance is mandatory.
  • March 17, 2017: Briefs of amicus curiae in support of Amgen due.
  • March 31, 2017: Sandoz’s response and reply due. Sandoz will submit a consolidated brief of up to 10,000 words replying to Amgen’s response and responding to Amgen’s opening.
  • April 14, 2017: Amgen’s reply due. Amgen will submit a reply to Sandoz’s response of up to 6,000 words.

Amici curiae may file only one brief; the due date is determined by which party the amicus supports, no matter which issue or issues the amicus addresses.

We expect oral argument to occur between April 24-26, the end of the Court’s final argument sitting, which would allow the Court to decide the case before the end of June.

 

Stay tuned at Big Molecule Watch for further developments.