Idenix Pharmaceuticals Announces Declaration of Senior Party in a Second Patent Interference by the USPTO
December 09 2013 - 8:00AM
Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:IDIX), a biopharmaceutical
company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the
treatment of human viral diseases, today announced that the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) declared a patent
interference between Idenix's U.S. Patent 7,608,600 and Gilead
Sciences, Inc.'s U.S. Patent Application 11/854,218, both related
to the use of certain 2'-methyl, 2'-fluoro nucleoside compounds to
treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.
A patent interference is an administrative proceeding conducted
by the USPTO in order to determine which party is entitled to a
patent when two or more parties claim patent rights to the same
technology. Under applicable U.S. law, a patent is awarded to the
first party to invent a particular technology, subject to certain
limitations. The applicant who filed the earlier patent application
is referred to as the senior party in the patent interference and
the applicant with the later filing date is referred to as the
junior party. The junior party bears the burden of proof to
demonstrate that it invented the technology in question before the
senior party. In this case, the USPTO has initially determined that
Idenix is the senior party and that Gilead is the junior party.
Other Ongoing Patent Disputes
In February 2012, the USPTO initiated a separate interference
involving a pending Idenix patent application (U.S. Patent
Application 12/131,868) covering certain 2'-methyl, 2'-fluoro
nucleoside compounds and a granted Gilead patent (U.S. Patent
7,429,572) also related to certain 2'-methyl, 2'-fluoro nucleoside
compounds. This patent interference is currently ongoing.
In December 2013, Idenix announced it filed two lawsuits against
Gilead: a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District
Court in Boston, Massachusetts (Idenix U.S. Patents 6,914,054 and
7,608,597) and a separate patent infringement and interference
lawsuit in the United States District Court in Wilmington, Delaware
(Idenix U.S. Patent 7,608,600 and Gilead U.S. Patent 8,415,322).
The patents asserted by Idenix in its Massachusetts infringement
lawsuit are not the same patents at issue in the U.S. patent
interferences or in ongoing foreign litigation. The patent in the
Delaware lawsuit is the same as the patent involved in this second
patent interference.
Foreign litigation is ongoing related to lawsuits Gilead has
filed against Idenix in various jurisdictions outside the United
States to invalidate granted Idenix patents covering certain
2'-methyl-2'-fluoro nucleoside compounds and their use in treating
HCV or other Flaviviridae viruses.
ABOUT IDENIX
Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, is a biopharmaceutical Company engaged in the
discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral
diseases. Idenix's current focus is on the treatment of patients
with hepatitis C infection. For further information about Idenix,
please refer to www.idenix.com.
CONTACT: Idenix Pharmaceuticals Contact:
Teri Dahlman (617) 995-9807
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