Bruce Wexler Named Transatlantic Lawyer of the Year: Intellectual Property by The American Lawyer

June 14, 2016

The American Lawyer named Bruce Wexler the Transatlantic Lawyer of the Year: Intellectual Property at its Transatlantic Legal Awards 2016. These awards consider the top legal work between the U.S. and the U.K. and European legal markets, recognizing law firms for “excellence in handling transatlantic matters across the key areas of corporate, finance, and disputes, as well as highlighting law firm innovation, commitment to pro bono, outstanding transatlantic strategy, and in-house leaders.” The winners were announced at a gala dinner in London on June 7, 2016, jointly hosted by The American Lawyer and Legal Week.

Bruce was recognized for significant wins in matters that involved United States and European companies. In August 2015, Bruce secured a significant trial win on behalf of Merck against German generic pharmaceutical company Sandoz. He served as lead counsel for Merck in patent infringement litigation defending Merck’s patent protecting the active ingredient in Emend® for Injection, an important drug for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. After a six-day bench trial, Judge Sheridan of the District of New Jersey entered judgment in favor of Merck on all aspects of Sandoz’s invalidity defenses, resulting in a complete victory for Merck. In the course of the Court’s 80-page opinion finding in Merck’s favor, the Court noted the lack of credibility of Sandoz’s key expert witness who had been cross-examined by Bruce at trial.

In late 2015, he completed the successful defense of Eli Lilly against allegations of patent infringement by Sanofi (involving France, Germany, and the United States). Bruce served as lead counsel for Eli Lilly & Co. in litigation with Sanofi regarding Eli Lilly’s request to market its insulin glargine drug product Basaglar®. Sanofi brought suit on five patents, relating to a pharmaceutical composition and injector pen device, listed in the FDA Orange Book for Sanofi’s Lantus® and Lantus SoloStar® insulin glargine products. Bruce successfully led the case through fact and expert discovery, including live-witness Markman proceedings, obtaining important claim construction rulings pertaining to the patents in suit. The case settled on the eve of trial in late 2015 with the press reporting Eli Lilly’s ability to launch Basaglar® the following year.

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