Intellectual Property & Patents

Pfizer and Touchlight have signed a patent license agreement for Pfizer to use Touchlight’s doggybone DNA (dbDNA) in the manufacture of mRNA vaccines, therapeutics, and gene therapies.

GeoVax has received a patent for its malaria vaccine from the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Ymmunobio AG has signed a patent purchase agreement with LeukoCom GmbH to expand its development of cancer therapies.

Evonetix’s thermally controlled DNA synthesis technology is designed to enable highly parallel DNA synthesis in a benchtop platform.

ATMPS Ltd has been granted a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the use of its Hataali blockchain technology used in personalized medicines.

The European Patent Office has granted another patent to Salipro Biotech, covering the composition-of-matter, methods, and uses of the company’s novel antigen technology.

Immutep was granted a Chinese patent for LAG525, a LAG-3 antagonist antibody, under evaluation for cancer treatment.

BlueAllele has been granted a US patent for its advanced gene-editing technology, PALIDON, which is compatible with existing gene editing nucleases and delivery systems.

Immodulon has received an indication of allowability from the European Patent Office for the claims in its patent application relating to its lead drug candidate.

Salipro Biotech has been granted a European Patent for its novel method of direct extraction of membrane proteins and for the generation of libraries with Salipro particles.

Scientists at the company learned that deagglomeration techniques lose efficacy through equipment wear over time and developed a tactic that makes up for the wear and prepares an ideal sample for each particle size test.

More work is needed to educate businesses on the value of innovation and the availability of funding.

Although a necessity, companies must strike a critical balance between protecting innovations with IP and providing affordable access to medicines.

Diurnal Group has been granted a patent for its hydrocortisone granules in capsules for opening, Alkindi, from the European Patent Office.

Opposition to IP protection for COVID-19 vaccines, therapies, tests and other technologies may only prevent eradication and treatment of the disease.

The register supports cross-functional teams of chemists and biologists in developing non-natural, chemically-modified therapeutics for drug discovery.

In the study, GigaGen presents a novel technology for producing a new class of drug, recombinant hyperimmunes, that may potentially generate new COVID-19 therapies.

Stringent patentability requirements present a challenge to obtaining broad-based antibody claims, so companies should develop a strategy based on multiple reinforcing layers of protection.

FDA’s EUA provides the first new treatment for COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms.

Eurofins DiscoverX partners with VelaLabs to enable VelaLabs to perform highly reproducible potency lot release assays under GLP/GMP conditions.

Under the agreement, ERS Genomics will license its gene-editing technology to Aelian Biotechnoloy to support its commercial functional genomic screening platform.

ERS Genomics revealed that the European Patent Office (EPO) has rejected arguments filed in opposition to patent EP2800811, which is directed to the single-guide CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system and covers uses in cellular and non-cellular settings.

Inflazome, a biotech company based in Dublin, Ireland, has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) will grant its patent applications in January 2020.

As the high cost of drugs continues to erode public opinion, experts ask whether price controls are the best, or only, way to improve access to medicines and regain the public’s trust.

Swiss-based specialist pharma R&D company, MetP Pharma, has been granted a Notice of Allowance from the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its patent titled, “Treatment of Demyelineating Diseases.”

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals has received a patent, which is valid for 20 years, from the Government of India for its liquid diclofenac metered-dose rectal spray.

A second lawsuit has been filed by Centrient Pharmaceuticals India in the High Court of Delhi in New Delhi against Dalas Biotech for patent infringement.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company has acquired an exclusive global license from COUR Pharmaceuticals for the development and commercialization of an investigational celiac disease therapy.

The agency seeks comments on a draft guidance designed to make the process conform to its original intent as a communication tool, rather than a roadblock to competition and innovation.

A District Court for the US District of Delaware has ruled in favor of Sanofi and Regeneron in the patent case targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9).