In a brief Markman order, Chief Judge Sleet construed the following terms:
- “Controlled release pellet formulation,” construed to mean “an oral composition formulated to ensure that the active compound is released preferentially at the site of the disease to be treated.” Id. at 1-2.
- “A core consisting of a non-pareil seed,” construed to mean “the innermost part of the pellet consisting of a non-pareil seed and optionally one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients.” Id. at 2.
- “A core consisting of … a seed in which a glucocorticosteroid as defined in this claim is homogenously distributed,” construed to mean “the innermost part of the pellet consisting of a non-pareil seed and optionally one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients.'” Id. at 2-3.
- “A layer surrounding said core,” construed to mean “a coating enclosing on all sides said core.” Id. at 3. Chief Judge Sleet further defined “coating” as synonymous with “layer” in the context of this claim.
- “About,” construed to mean “approximately.” Id. at 3. Chief Judge Sleet noted that “[t]he court is mindful that the word ‘about’ cannot be read out of a claim that cites a numeric range,” but held that “any deviation from the recited range must be minimal” in this case due to restrictions in the prosecution history and the specification. Id. at fn. 7.
- “A membrane surrounding both said core and said surrounding layer,” construed to mean “a coating enclosing on all sides both said core and the layer surrounding said core.” Id. at 4.
- “Crohn’s disease in the small intestine as relapse preventing therapy,” construed to mean “Crohn’s disease of the small intestine, where treatment is used to maintain symptom control once remission has been achieved.” Id. at 4.
- “Controlled release pharmaceutical formulation,” construed to mean “an oral composition formulated to ensure that the active compound is released preferentially at the site of the disease to be treated.” Id.
AstraZeneca LP v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., C.A. No. 08-305-GMS (D. Del. Oct. 5, 2009)
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