Biotech news
Americas
The North Carolina Central University School of Law is planning to launch an intellectual property institute designed to provide expertise and training in areas related to science, technology, engineering and maths. 8 April 2016
Americas
The BPCIA requires a biosimilar applicant to notify the reference product sponsor of its drug no later than 180 days before the first commercial marketing date. Darryl Woo, Erin Ator Thomson, Janice Ta and Wendy Wang of Vinson & Elkins report on some of the pressing issues in this area. 7 April 2016
Americas
In March, Merck unsuccessfully tried to invalidate a patent owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb covering metastatic skin cancer treatment. Ernest Linek of Banner & Witcoff reviews the arguments and the court’s ruling. 7 April 2016
Biotech
Law firm Boult Wade Tennant has hired Jason Rutt as an attorney in the firm’s biotechnology and life sciences group in London. 7 April 2016
Asia
MRC Technology and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences have agreed a partnership that will help develop new therapeutic antibodies. 6 April 2016
Americas
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a biosimilar version of Janssen Biotech’s drug Remicade. 6 April 2016
Americas
Law firm Reed Smith has hired Nicolas Barzoukas and Josh Davis as partners in the firm’s intellectual property, information and innovation practice group in Houston. 31 March 2016
Americas
No patent application directed to CRISPR has yet fallen foul of the EU’s Biotech Directive on the basis of the human embryo use exception, but the technology is still in its nascent stage. Ashley Roughton of Nabarro reports. 31 March 2016
Americas
Biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific said its potential merger with genomics company Affymetrix is its preferred option to another potential deal. 29 March 2016
Pharma
Despite a large body of EPO case law accepting second medical use claims that recite a novel technical effect, all eyes are on how courts in EPC member states will deal with infringement cases arising from such patents. Joachim Wachenfeld and Oswin Ridderbusch of Vossius & Partner report. 24 March 2016