Biotech news
Biotech
Pfizer has struck a research and licensing agreement with Belgium biopharmaceutical company Imcyse to develop treatments for rheumatoid arthritis using Imotopes - Imcyse’s platform of immunotherapeutics based on synthetic peptides. 5 February 2021
Pharma
Coherus Biosciences has signed a deal with Chinese biopharmaceutical company Shanghai Junshi Biosciences for the development and commercialisation rights to toripalimab, Junshi’s PD-1 inhibitor, in the US and Canada. 4 February 2021
Asia
India has granted emergency approval to COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and one from the state-run institute Bharat Biotech, ahead of a huge immunisation drive that is planned to begin this week. 5 January 2021
Americas
Canadian medical cannabis company Canopy Growth has accused GW Pharma of using a patented technological process to produce its flagship epilepsy treatment, Epidiolex, without authorisation. 24 December 2020
Americas
A US federal appeals court has upheld a 42-month prison sentence for an ex-employee of DuPont Industrial Biosciences who stole trade secrets from the firm. 24 December 2020
Americas
The University of Southern Denmark has accused biotech Creative Biolabs of infringing its patent-protected monoclonal antibody, HG-HYB 7-5. 9 December 2020
Biotech
The UK Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Essential Pharma over suspicions that the pharmaceutical company contravened competition law by proposing to withdraw the supply of Priadel, a lithium-based medication for bipolar disease. 30 November 2020
Americas
Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca have asked the US District Court for the District of Delaware for a declaration that their breast cancer treatment does not infringe a chemotherapy patent owned by biotechnology company Seagen. 18 November 2020
Americas
The role of the doctrine of equivalents in assessing the value of, and risks associated with, medtech patents is often overlooked. Christopher Bright and Nathan Smith of Morgan Lewis report. 18 November 2020
Pharma
In response to the surge of COVID-19 infections worldwide, 18 generic drug makers have pledged to join the effort by the Medicines Patent Pool to accelerate global access to effective COVID-19 treatments via a pool for voluntary product licences. 17 November 2020