TKT Announces Favorable Outcome in Markman Hearing in Replagal(TM) Patent Litigation
- TKT to Move for Summary Judgment -
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov 29, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq: TKTX chart, msgs) announced today that the Honorable Gregory M. Sleet of the U.S. District Court of Delaware has issued an opinion from the "Markman hearing" favorably construing the claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,356,804 in an infringement suit Genzyme Corporation and Mount Sinai School of Medicine brought against TKT. Next week TKT intends to move for summary judgment that Replagal(TM) does not infringe this patent.
Richard F Selden, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are delighted with the Court's construction of the claims involved in this case. Based on the Court's decision, we continue to believe that TKT does not infringe this patent and, furthermore, believe that the Court should grant our motion for summary judgment."
Markman hearings are typically held prior to the commencement of a patent infringement trial to determine the meaning of certain words or phrases in the claims of the patent in question. At this Markman hearing, the Court construed the key disputed phrase "chromosomally integrated" from the '804 patent to mean a combination of "the chromosome of the host cell and an exogenous nucelotide sequence encoding human alpha-galactosidase A with a promoter and selectable marker." TKT's technology for making Replagal is not based on such a combination. In addition, many other claim terms were also construed in TKT's favor, and the Court incorporated its definition of "chromosomally integrated" into a number of the claim terms.
On July 25, 2000, Genzyme and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine brought suit against TKT in the U.S. District Court of Delaware in Wilmington claiming that TKT's activities relating to Replagal (agalsidase alfa) enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease infringe one or more claims of the '804 patent. TKT answered and counterclaimed that the '804 patent was invalid and was not infringed by TKT. The Markman hearing was held on November 8, 2001. If the case continues, a jury trial in this action is scheduled to begin in March 2002.
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