Andrew P. Blythe

Specialty / focus areas. Andrew P. Blythe is a patent litigator whose tracked docket is dominated by Hatch-Waxman / ANDA pharmaceutical litigation, almost entirely on behalf of Novartis Pharmaceuticals in the Delaware district court. Those matters concern method-of-use patents for Gilenya (fingolimod 0.5 mg) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, including infringement, inducement, written-description, and claim-construction issues. His broader practice, per his Gibson Dunn bio and docket entries, extends to technology litigation — networking/communications, software, computer architecture, and mechanical/consumer-product patents — including work for Dell (in WSOU Investments cases), Apple (SpaceTime3D v. Apple, W.D. Tex.), and Nespresso (K-fee v. Nespresso, C.D. Cal.). Per his firm profile he has handled matters from complaint through appeal, including jury and bench trials and USPTO proceedings.

Side preference. The tracked appearances skew heavily plaintiff-side (8 of 9), reflecting his role as trial counsel, of counsel, and pro hac vice counsel for patent owner Novartis in the Gilenya ANDA wave. His firm-profile matters, however, show meaningful defendant-side work for operating companies (defending a medical-device maker, a networking company, Dell, Apple, Nespresso), so he works both sides, with a plaintiff/patentee tilt in pharma.

Firm context and notable cases. All nine tracked appearances are at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he is a litigation associate in the IP Practice Group (Orange County/Los Angeles offices); I found no evidence of prior firms or in-house roles. The flagship matter is Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc. (D. Del. 18-cv-1043), where Novartis won a preliminary injunction (2019), prevailed after a four-day bench trial on infringement and validity of the '405 patent (2020), and was initially affirmed by the Federal Circuit (21 F.4th 1362, Jan. 2022) — but the en-banc-style rehearing panel reversed on written description of the negative "no-loading-dose" limitation (38 F.4th 1013, June 2022), and certiorari was denied (143 S. Ct. 1748, 2023). The companion matter Novartis v. HEC Pharm Co. (D. Del. 20-cv-133), involving the '179 vaccination/dosing-regimen patent, produced a 2023 claim-construction opinion and remained active into late 2025 (First Amended Complaint July 2025). His bio also cites a directed verdict for a networking client, an early summary judgment of noninfringement for a consumer-products client, and a multi-million-dollar jury verdict for a data-storage client (specific case not independently verified).

PTAB / IPR and credentials. Blythe has regular PTAB/IPR experience on both sides: he served as back-up counsel for Merck as petitioner (e.g., IPR2018-00393), and his firm bio describes representing a pharma petitioner in four related IPRs (arguing motions and second-chairing the oral hearing) and defending a pharma patent against IPR challenges by three petitioners — consistent with the '405 patent surviving IPR2017-00854. He holds a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law (2015) and a B.A. summa cum laude in mathematical economics (physics minor) from Occidental College (2009, Phi Beta Kappa), is admitted in California and New York, and is a registered patent attorney (USPTO Reg. No. 75,014).