Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that in oral proceedings earlier this month, the European Patent Office (EPO) Technical Board of Appeal reinstated with amended claims the Isis-owned Patent EP0618925 (the '925 Patent). The patent claims broadly cover antisense drugs with "chimeric" or "gapmer" structures, including Isis' proprietary second-generation structures and the compositions of numerous other antisense compounds. More specifically, the claims cover a class of antisense compounds, any of which is designed to have a sequence of phosphorothioate-linked nucleotides having two regions of chemically modified RNA flanking a region of DNA. This design, along with other Isis chemical innovations, improve antisense drugs by enhancing potency and stability while supporting patient convenience with less frequent dosing.
Isis has had an extensive oligonucleotide medicinal chemistry program since its inception and it continues to lead the field in the development of RNA-based drugs. Isis inventions in oligonucleotide chemistry enable improved stability, potency, distribution and safety of antisense drugs and are the basis for a portion of the Company's industry-leading intellectual property position.
Stanley Crooke, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Isis, commented, "Virtually all antisense drugs currently in development, or likely to be developed in the near future, have gapmer compositions pioneered by Isis and covered by this issued patent. We are pleased that the EPO recognizes Isis' inventions and we intend to fully exercise our rights under this patent. Consistent with our historical strategy, we will begin to exploit this patent by aggressively pursuing licensing arrangements with companies developing or commercializing gapmer antisense compounds."
The '925 Patent was originally granted on August 29th, 2001, opposed by several parties and revoked by an EPO Opposition Division on December 10th, 2003. The Technical Board of Appeal's decision at the oral proceedings, held in Munich on December 5th, 2006, sets aside the Opposition Division's decision and upholds the patent in amended form to cover second-generation antisense structures.
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