Amgen patent claims invalidated by US district court
Posted: 29 August 2019 | Rachael Harper (European Pharmaceutical Review) | No comments yet
A US district court has invalidated Amgen’s patent claims for antibodies targeting PCSK9.
The US District Court for the District of Delaware has ruled in favour of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Sanofi, finding that Amgen’s asserted patent claims for antibodies targeting PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) are invalid based on a lack of enablement.
“[This] decision by the US District Court for the District of Delaware validates our position that Amgen’s patents are overly broad and invalid,” said Joseph LaRosa, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Regeneron. “Praluent was developed using Regeneron’s proprietary science and technology and the judge has confirmed our position by issuing this ruling.”
This ruling has overturned portions of an earlier jury verdict upholding the validity of three claims. Earlier this year, a jury found in Regeneron and Sanofi’s favour that two other asserted Amgen patent claims are invalid. This means that Regeneron and Sanofi have successfully invalidated all five asserted Amgen patent claims.
“It has been our longstanding belief that all of Amgen’s asserted US PCSK9 patent claims are invalid and we are pleased [this] decision reaffirms this,” added Karen Linehan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Sanofi.
