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Alnylam, European Patent Office, Invitrogen, Merck, Integra, Qiagen

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Alnylam Says European Patent Office Issues
Patent On RNAi Technology Licensed by Company

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals said this week that the European Patent Office has issued a patent on technology, to which the company holds an exclusive license, related to the therapeutic use of double-stranded RNA expressed from endogenous templates or expression vectors to mediate RNA interference.

Alnylam said that it holds the rights to the patent under an agreement with Cancer Research Technology Limited.


Invitrogen Says Supreme Court's Merck v. Integra
Ruling Excludes Research Tools …

A ruling by the US Supreme Court that will allow drug makers to use compounds patented by other firms in their research should not have a negative impact on companies developing molecular biology tools, Invitrogen said this week.

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled this week that drug developers are exempt from patent infringement when using patented inventions "solely for uses reasonably related to the development and submission of information under a Federal law which regulates the manufacture, use, or sale of drugs."

Invitrogen noted in a statement, however, that the court did not include patented "research tools" in its interpretation.

The Court's decision was in favor of Germany's Merck, which had been using compounds patented by Integra LifeSciences in its cancer research. Integra sued Merck, which is not related to the US firm of the same name, for patent infringement in 1996.

But although Invitrogen submitted a brief to the court in support of Integra LifeSciences in March, the company today claimed the ruling as a victory because the Supreme Court did "not extend the statutory research use exemption to patented research tools."

In a footnote to the opinion, Invitrogen noted, the Court said that it would not express a view about "whether, or to what extent" current law "exempts from infringement the use of 'research tools' in the development of information for the regulatory process."

Alan Hammond, chief intellectual property counsel for Invitrogen, said, "In essence, while the Court found that companies may use patented inventions in research activities related to the drug compounds or targets themselves, it excluded patented research tools from its ruling. We believe, therefore, that the ruling will not have a material effect on Invitrogen's business."


... And Raises $325 Million in Convertible Notes Sale

Invitrogen said this week that it has raised $325 million in a sale of convertible notes due 2025.

The company initially planned to offer $300 million of the 3.25-percent senior convertible notes. Purchasers had an option to purchase up to an additional $50 million to cover over-allotments.

Earlier in the week, Invitrogen said the purchasers exercised the option to purchase an additional $25 million in notes. The total offering size remains $350 million.

The company said that it will use some of the net proceeds to repay around $124 million borrowed in a revolving line of credit with Bank of America, and intends to use the balance for "potential acquisitions and for general corporate purposes, including the potential repayment or redemption of other outstanding debt."


Qiagen Buys Chinese Reagent
Provider in Deal Worth up to $4 Million

Qiagen said this week it has acquired Chinese nucleic acid purification reagents provider Tianwei Times for approximately $2 million in cash plus an additional $2 million in performance-based milestones over the next two years.

Under the terms of the acquisition, which still needs to be approved by the Chinese government, Qiagen purchased certain assets of the Beijing-based company, which has approximately 50 employees.

Qiagen expects Tianwei, which focuses on providing solutions for DNA and RNA purification, to contribute $1.5 million to $2 million in reagent sales and $0.3 million in net earnings in 2006.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.