BASF and Royal DSM embroiled in animal feed patent suits

Bulgaria-based Huvepharma has accused chemicals company BASF and Dutch life sciences Koninklijke DSM , known as Royal DSM, of infringing its feed additive.

In two separate lawsuits filed at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, Huvepharma claimed that both BASF and Royal DSM of selling infringing phytase animal feed products in the US.

The patent at issue, US number 8,993,300, covers Huvepharma’s phytase enzyme product OptiPhos, an additive to feed for animals.

Xingen Lei, a researcher at Cornell University, invented and initially developed the method of manufacturing OptiPhos. The patent, granted to Cornell Research Foundation, was subsequently exclusively licensed to Huvepharma for the company to commercialise OptiPhos in the US.

According to the Bulgarian company, BASF’s Natuphos E phytase animal feed products and Royal DSM’s Ronozyme HiPhos phytase animal feed are infringing its patent.

In its suit against BASF, Huvepharma alleged that the chemicals company was wilfully infringing the ‘300 patent.

In 2013, BASF acquired Verenium Corporation, which is now BASF Enzymes, the enzyme research and development unit of BASF.

Verenium’s predecessor-in-interest is Diversa Corporation which, in the early 2000s, filed and prosecuted patent applications directed to thermotolerant phytase.

During prosecution of one of the patents, Diversa cited and submitted US patent number 6,451,572 as relevant prior art. The ‘572 patent, granted to Lei, is the parent patent of the ’300 patent.

“Due to the partnership and development collaboration between Diversa/Verenium and BASF, defendants were privy to Diversa’s phytase efforts, and in particular privy to the same body of information as Diversa with regard to Diversa’s efforts to patent aspects of its phytase products,” said the suit.

While Royal DSM wasn’t accused of wilful infringement, the claim noted that “each of the accused phytase animal feed products have been produced using the same methods in the context of the ’300 patent claims”.

In both suits, Huvepharma is seeking a finding of infringement, in addition to damages and costs.

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