European Patent Office rejects 3M aerosol claims:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The European Patent Office has rejected claims from 3M subsidiary, Riker Labs, relating to the use of hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) as a propellant in asthma drug delivery devices. According to Miami, Florida-based IVAX, the patent was rejected for lack of novelty and it also removes an obstacle to the marketing of such devices by IVAX itself. Its subsidiary, UK-based Norton Healthcare, has already received approvals in France and Ireland for the use of the HFA propellant with beclomethasone.