German Federal Patent Court upholds Newron’s patent for Xadago

Alfred E. Tiefenbacher and Newron went head to head at the Federal Patent Court. The court upheld Newron's patent covering its Parkinson's drug Xadago. According to sources, Newron will enforce the judgment. The parallel infringement proceedings will now continue.

Last week, the Federal Patent Court confirmed the validity of Newron’s EP 2 474 521 (case ID: 3 Ni 24/23 (EP)). The patent protects a high-purity form of safinamide used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

The original medication safinamide is sold under the brand name Xadago. Patent holder Newron has licensed distribution to Zambon. According to its 2024 annual report, Newron received licence fees of €6.9 million from Zambon for Xadago last year. These fees stem partly from existing SPCs in several European countries.

Hamburg-based pharmaceutical company Alfred E. Tiefenbacher attempted to invalidate the patent at the Federal Patent Court. The key issue was inventive step. The chamber under presiding judge Walter Schramm upheld the patent but the court has not yet published its reasoning. The plaintiff may appeal the decision.

Infringement proceedings are ongoing in parallel. Recently, Munich Regional Court granted a preliminary injunction against competitor Puren in September.