EPO revokes patent for transgenic mice and rats

The European Patent Office (EPO) has invalidated a patent covering genetically modified mice and rats.

Patent number EP1409646 was issued to US biopharmaceutical company Altor Bioscience in 2012, but the EPO revoked it this week because it did not demonstrate an inventive step.

In 2013, US biotechnology company Regeneron and a group including non-profit GeneWatch UK and the Jane Goodall Institute, an environment conservation organisation, challenged the validity of the patent.

At the time of filing the opposition the patent’s claims included the phrase “a non-human transgenic animal capable of being manipulated transgenically”, but they were amended last month to include the phrase “a transgenic mouse or rat” instead.

References to primates, chimpanzees, goats, pigs and zebrafish were removed from the language.

The EPO’s Opposition Division heard oral arguments in the case on Tuesday, July 7, and decided on the same day that the patent lacked the requisite inventive step to be considered valid.

A final ruling has not been published yet.

Helen Jones, partner at Gill Jennings & Every, said: "The decision can be appealed against so is not yet final. The rate of reversal of this type of decision is quite low, but nevertheless is not inconceivable by any means.”

Neither Regeneron nor Altor BioScience had responded to a request for comment at the time of publication, but we will update the story should either company get in touch.