Latest News & Features
Europe
Europe’s highest court has said that an organism incapable of developing into a human does not constitute a human embryo and therefore uses of it can be patented. 18 December 2014
Americas
The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued new guidance for determining what claims are eligible for patenting, with one lawyer saying it could “muddy the waters”. 17 December 2014
Asia
Bayer has lost an attempt to block a generic version of its cancer drug Nexavar (Sorafenib) in India after the country’s highest court rejected an appeal from the German pharmaceutical company. 16 December 2014
Big Pharma
Pharmaceutical companies will suffer an estimated $65 billion drop in sales over the next five years due to the expiry of patents protecting several leading drugs, according to a UK research and consulting firm. 12 December 2014
Americas
Pharmaceutical company Supernus and its subsidiary Galderma have had their Oracea (doxycycline) acne treatment drug protected from a generic challenge, in a decision dubbed the “first of its kind”. 11 December 2014
Europe
Law firm King & Spalding has appointed a partner to its office in Washington, DC. 10 December 2014
Americas
Pharmaceutical company Merck has said it will press on with an $8.4 billion buyout of Cubist Pharmaceuticals despite a court ruling that could pave the way for a generic version of a lucrative Cubist drug. 10 December 2014
Americas
Novartis’s generic arm Sandoz has failed to win a patent case regarding its biosimilar version of Amgen’s psoriasis and arthritis drug Enbrel (etanercept). 9 December 2014
Americas
A US court has spared drug companies AstraZeneca and Ranbaxy Laboratories a potentially hefty fine after ruling that a ‘pay-for-delay’ deal between them did not violate antitrust grounds. 8 December 2014
Americas
US research centre the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard has entered into a worldwide licensing deal with Editas Medicines, granting it access to IP covering genome technology and human therapeutic applications. 5 December 2014