Il brevetto che copre sofosbuvir rimane valido, in forma modificata su alcuni aspetti tecnici. Pertanto l’azienda ritiene che la decisione dell’Ufficio Brevetti Europeo rappresenti un’ulteriore conferma della straordinaria innovazione che questo farmaco rappresenta per i pazienti.
Nota stampa Gilead Italia
L’Ufficio Brevetti Europeo conferma il brevetto sul sofosbuvir
Milano, 11 ottobre 2016 – Mercoledì scorso, 5 ottobre, l’Ufficio Europeo dei Brevetti (European Patent Office, EPO) ha confermato il brevetto europeo sul sofosbuvir, farmaco di Gilead per il trattamento dell’epatite C.
La sezione dello European Patent Office dedicata ai ricorsi ha raggiunto questa decisione dopo due giorni di udienze, durante le quali i ricorrenti hanno avuto modo di presentare i propri argomenti per contestare la validità del brevetto.
Il brevetto che copre sofosbuvir rimane valido, in forma modificata su alcuni aspetti tecnici. Pertanto l’azienda ritiene che la decisione dell’Ufficio Brevetti Europeo rappresenti un’ulteriore conferma della straordinaria innovazione che questo farmaco rappresenta per i pazienti.
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EPO maintains patent for hepatitis C drug in amended form
Munich, 5 October 2016 – The European Patent Office (EPO) has maintained in an amended form European patent EP 2203462, granted to Gilead Pharmasset LLC in respect of a drug for the treatment of hepatitis C. The decision was announced today at the end of public oral proceedings in the opposition procedure before the EPO. The patent had been contested by ten parties, including the NGO Médecins du Monde, pharmaceutical companies and IP law firms. It covers drug compounds and especially the active chemical agent Sofosbuvir marketed under various brand names.
After hearing the parties present, the EPO’s Opposition Division (a body consisting of three experts in the relevant technical field and a patent law expert) came to the conclusion that after deletion of claims to single compounds, European patent EP 2203462 could be maintained in an amended form.
The grounds for decision will be published on the EPO website in due course. The decision can be appealed by the parties before the EPO’s second-instance judiciary, the Boards of Appeal.
The patent application was filed at the EPO on 26 March 2008, and the European patent granted to Gilead on 21 May 2014. Oppositions were filed with the EPO in February 2015 by ten parties. The opponents had requested revocation of the patent in its entirety for reasons of non-compliance with legal provisions of European patent law including novelty of the invention and the inventive step applied. The patent owner had requested that the patent be maintained.
