IPR & Legal

Merus BV of the Netherlands has secured another legal victory over Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc in a battle over intellectual property rights to transgenic mouse technology for the production of therapeutic antibodies.

Merus BV has successfully fought off a patent infringement lawsuit brought against it in the US by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, thus securing freedom to operate in the space for transgenic-mouse based antibody therapeutics. The Dutch company announced the decision on 5 January 2015.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a decision in a patent case brought by a US corporation which gives a fresh interpretation to restrictions laid down in 2011 on the patentability of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc is to appeal against a decision of the European Patent Office (EPO) to revoke its patent for transgenic mouse technology, a patent that was successfully challenged by Kymab Ltd of the UK.

Kymab Ltd has successfully challenged a European patent issued to its competitor, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, for transgenic mouse technology that is a foundation for developing therapeutic antibodies. The patent was said to lack an inventive step as required by European patent law.

The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union has given a fresh interpretation to restrictions laid down by the court in 2011 on the patentability of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes. 

The European Commission has been overruled in a dispute over the authorisation of an orphan medicine, in a case that further clarifies the ‘well-established medical use’ criteria for approving new drugs for marketing in Europe.

A lawsuit has been filed in the US by a patient with Type 2 diabetes who was prescribed Byetta and Janumet and later developed pancreatic cancer. The suit was announced by Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, McCartney & Giuffra LLP in New York.

The Federal Court of Australia has upheld a challenge to AstraZeneca’s patents for the cholesterol medication, Crestor (rosuvastatin). The company said that it is reviewing its legal options which could include filing an appeal.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc said it has reached an agreement in principle with the US government to pay $3 billion to settle civil and criminal investigations relating to sales and marketing practices, including those for Avandia (rosiglitazone).