Gilead Goes On The Offensive, To Reclaim Its IP In The EU | Remdesivir: Suit Against China's Military / Medical Arm...

Power-alley, again: China essentially snuck into the EU patent offices, and got what it thinks is a blocking patent, in the EU at least, on Gilead's wildly successful Remdesivir.

The EU legal mechanisms at the Commission level provide for a "fast track" in situations like this -- for bio-pharmas like Gilead. And the company is taking aggressive advantage of that mechanism. There could be a final outcome by next summer -- and by patent law (i.e., glacial) time frames. . . that is swift, indeed. Here's the latest on it all:

. . .The European Patent Office recently granted EP 3 854 403. The patent belongs to the Academy of Military Medical Sciences based in Beijing and protects the use of substituted aminopropionate compounds in the treatment of SARS-Cov-2 infections.

This means it is potentially a threat to the sale of remdesivir. Gilead developed the drug under the brand name Veklury as a broad-spectrum antiviral medication. It was originally intended for the treatment of Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus infections, but since the coronavirus pandemic it has been used primarily as a post-infection treatment for COVID-19. . . .

Revocation actions over pharmaceuticals have had a certain appeal in the industry since the UPC launched. Early on, Astellas sued to invalidate two patents belonging to Healios and the University of Osaka. Sanofi also took action against Amgen’s Praluent patent in the court’s first year. In addition, Pfizer attacked a GSK patent for an RSV vaccine. . . .

We will keep an eye on this one -- but it is hard to imagine how the Chinese state-affiliated actors could ever prevail (in the long term) on this, in the EU. Do stay tuned.

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