Santaris Pharma announced this week that the US Patent and Trademark Office has upheld the patentability of two of its antisense technology patents, which had been under re-examination at the request of Isis Pharmaceuticals.
Specifically, the USPTO revoked the re-exam of US patent No. 6,268,490, entitled “Bicyclonucleoside and Oligonucleotide Analogues,” and issued an action closing prosecution of the re-examination of US patent No. 6,770,748, also entitled “Bicyclonucleoside and Oligonucleotide Analogues,” Santaris said. Both patents relate to
locked nucleic acid or bicyclic nucleic acid chemical structures used to develop antisense molecules.
"The positive USPTO rulings are very important as the ... patents are one of the cornerstones of Santaris [Pharma's] significant patent estate, which broadly covers the 2'-4' bicyclic nucleotide universe,” Santaris CSO Henrik Orum said in a statement.
The USPTO rulings come on the heels of a patent-infringement lawsuit Isis filed against in September (GSN 9/29/2011). In that litigation, Isis claims that Santaris is infringing its intellectual property by providing antisense drugs and drug-discovery services to pharmaceutical partners.