On August 20, 2018, the Federal Court dismissed Valeant's PMNOC application regarding Ranbaxy's bupropion extended-release tablets (Valeant's WELLBUTRIN XL) and Patent No. 2,524,300. Justice McVeigh held that Ranbaxy's allegation of non-infringement was justified: Valeant Canada LP v Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., 2018 FC 847. Justice McVeigh found that "permeation enhancer" in the amount of "about 20% to about 40% of the moisture barrier dry weight" is an essential element, construed "permeation enhancer" to exclude polyethylene glycol and triethyl citrate, and construed "about" to mean a range of plus or minus 10%. Therefore, the amount of permeation enhancer in the Ranbaxy formulation was outside the scope of the range claimed and Ranbaxy's allegation of non-infringement was found justified.
