Sounds like a "testy" examination only a jury would love, if Ms. Stolley has it right. But of course this is a judge trial.
Amgen Lawyer Testifies Drug Patent Claims `Not False'
By Anna Marie Stolley
quote.bloomberg.com
Excerpts:
Boston, Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- An Amgen Inc. lawyer testified before a federal judge today that the company's application for a patent covering its top-selling anemia drug Epogen was based on the ``best information'' available at the time.
Michael Borun, under questioning by an attorney for rival drugmaker Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., denied knowingly providing patent examiners with false information.
``It's not false,'' Borun testified, in a testy exchange with Transkaryotic's lawyer, Herbert Schwartz. ``It's the information we had at the time.''
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'Considered Correct'
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Schwartz asked Borun whether he told examiners while awaiting approval of two pending patents that Amgen had already sued Transkaryotic over the three other Epogen patents.
Schwartz asked if there was ``No obligation to tell the Patent Office about the existence of this lawsuit?''
``That's right,'' Borun replied.
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Closely Watched Trial
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The case has broad implications because it could help determine how far drug companies can go in using patents to control competition, experts say.
Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen claims Transkaryotic and Aventis SA predecessor Hoechst Marion Roussel Inc. infringed on five of its patents by developing their own version of erythropoietin.
Different Methods
Transkaryotic contends it didn't infringe Amgen's patents because it used an entirely different method to develop erythropoietin.
While Amgen inserts a cloned gene into an animal cell to make its product, Transkaryotic has developed a method of inserting a DNA sequence into a human cell. The DNA sequence functions as a ``switch'' that causes the cell to produce erythropoietin.
If Transkaryotic prevails, analysts say, it could allow other companies to make competing versions of Amgen products, such as Neupogen, which is used to prevent infections in chemotherapy patients.
PaineWebber Inc. analyst Elise Wang said last week that a loss won't affect Amgen much in the long run, because it has a pipeline of profitable new drugs moving into the market.
In the short-term, however, a Transkaryotic win could cause Amgen shares -- already weighed down by the case -- to plunge 20 percent to 25 percent, Wang said. |
