Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Iancu On January 23, 2019, the Federal Circuit ruled that the statutory period of PTA reduction must match the period of applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution.  In this case, the Appellant submitted an IDS 100 days from an EPO notification that prior art references were submitted in the prosecution of a corresponding EP application.  However, the USPTO reduced the PTA by 646 days, alleging applicant’s delay.  The USPTO cited the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Gilead, reasoning that the IDS may have interfered with the examiner’s ability to process an application “because the examiner may be forced to go back and review the application again.”  The Federal Circuit disagreed with the USPTO.  Turning to 35 U.S.C. § 154(b)(2)(C)(i), the court found that “the statute expressly requires that any reduction to PTA be equal to the period of time during which an applicant fails to engage in reasonable efforts . . . The word ‘equal’ is widely understood to mean the same in amount, number, or size. . . Thus, if there is no period of time during which the applicant could have but failed to engage in reasonable efforts, there can be no reduction to the PTA” (emphasis added).