The University of California won a $100 million plus settlement from Monsanto for patent claims that had been pending for over 24 years – a patent covering the growth hormone used to make cows produce more milk. Monsanto reached a deal with the university just as the case was set to begin a jury trial. […]
The European Union decided against allowing a protein drug derived from the milk of genetically-engineered goats. In a press release, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in London said it had rejected the application to license a natural human protein extracted from the milk of goats. EMEA recommended against approval of ATryn (recombinant antithrombin alpha), which […]
The European Medicines Agency recommended approval of Omnitrope, which copies an existing growth hormone prescribed for undersized children. If given final OK by the European Commission, Omnitrope could be on the market later this year and would be the first-ever generic biotechnology drug. Omnitrope marks the first real threat to the near monopoly enjoyed by […]
A Frost and Sullivan report out says that the expiration of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) patent (US Patent No. 4,683,202) is setting the stage for growth opportunities for nucleic acid purification and amplification technologies. Companies can now offer tests without developing a novel nucleic acid technology or paying a license fee. The expiration of […]
The U.S. House of Representatives approved $3.78 billion prepare for a possible avian flu epidemic, including stockpiling potential vaccines, training emergency officials and increasing international surveillance. At the last minute, an unrelated provision (called the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act) to protect vaccine, drug and medical device makers against lawsuits in a public health […]
Columnist Robert Horton ran a story, entitled “Muckraking movie takes on biotech industry” in the Daily Herald about a new documentary film: “The Future of Food.” It’s not the views of the documentary that scared me (documentaries are often slanted to make a point) but it was instead the views of the columnist himself that […]
Peter Zura’s Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog has an interesting note about the valuation (or, overvaluation, as the case may be) of Biotech patents. Zura points to an article from Dominique Patton, questioning whether the current onslaught of high profile patent litigation is causing excessive valuations of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of technology companies. But, one […]
In India, a team of doctors is reviewing ancient Indian medical texts and putting this information into a 30-million-page electronic encyclopedia of India’s traditional medical knowledge, the first of its kind. As practitioners of ayurveda, unani and siddha, ancient Indian medical systems that date back thousands of years, these doctors are trying to put an […]
Served Up Daily
Editor-in-Chief Barista Stephen Jenei is a patent attorney and Owner of Jenei LLC. When not serving up patent chat over a steaming cup of java, he's handling a diverse intellectual property practice in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical fields. More info @ Jenei LLC
