Patent Law Weblog
recent posts
- Moderna Settles Patent Litigation with Arbutus et al.
- USPTO and DOJ Statement of Interest in Collision Communications: Another Thumb on the Scale in Favor of NPE Patent Plaintiffs
- Oasis Tooling, Inc. v. Siemens Industry Software Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2026)
- Why AI Will Not Take Over the World
- BioNTech Sues Moderna over mRNA Vaccine Technology
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Category: Biotech/Pharma News
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By James DeGiulio — Last year we reported that gene therapy was experiencing a revival of sorts, now that many of the safety concerns raised from early clinical trials have been resolved (see "Gene Therapy Experiencing a Revival"). However, this revival has not yet produced marketable therapeutics, as the FDA has yet to approve a…
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By James DeGiulio — Over the past five years, the pharmaceutical industry seems to have had little interest in developing new antibiotics despite drug-resistant bacteria representing a serious public health issue. Since the appearance of the first antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains in the 1940's, at least thirteen strains that are impervious to many antibiotics have been…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Think tanks, consortia, foundations, subcommittees, and "working groups" frequently assay an area with some social, economic, or technological significance to determine whether issues exist or can be anticipated that deserve to be studied to minimize harm or maximize opportunity. These groups can be helpful in focusing attention of what may…
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By James DeGiulio — When Andrew Fire and Craig Mello (at right) unraveled the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) and were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2006 for their efforts, RNAi was predicted to become the next great source of new therapeutics. Pharmaceutical companies moved quickly to devote research funding and personnel to developing what…
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By James DeGiulio — Last year, we reported on the revival of the therapeutic potential of gene therapy, after the technique hibernated for years due to questions of safety and inefficient gene delivery (see "Gene Therapy Experiencing a Revival"). The revival continues with the announcement of a new gene therapy clinical trial initiated by San…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — In his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation, President Obama emphasized the need for America to return to its innovator and entrepreneurial roots, and harness the ingenuity and commercial vigor long associated with this country to effectively compete in the global economy. The Biotechnology Industry Organization…
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By Donald Zuhn — A survey commissioned by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) shows that 89% of respondents believe patents provide the protection, time, and funding researchers to work on major technological discoveries, and therefore, are a "good thing." The survey also showed that while 51% respondents had reservations about DNA-based patents, those respondents could…
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By James DeGiulio — Earlier this year, we reported on the therapeutic potential of gene therapy experiencing a revival of sorts after falling out of favor for over 10 years (see "Gene Therapy Experiencing a Revival"). That revival continues, as evidenced by a press release issued by GlaxoSmithKline on Monday, in which the pharmaceutical company…
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By Donald Zuhn — Last week, Geron Corp. announced that it had enrolled the first patient in the company's clinical trial of GRNOPC, a human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cell line. The trial's first patient, who has asked to remain anonymous, was enrolled at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA, one of seven U.S.…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — With great fanfare (if not braggadocio), researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park have published a paper in Genome Biology that purports to provide the means for individuals to assess their risk for breast or ovarian cancer despite patenting of isolated human BRCA1 and BRCA 2 genes by the…
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