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Biotech / Medical : VVUS: VIVUS INC. (NASDAQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RT who wrote (21391)	4/26/1999 3:22:00 PM
From: Amots	Respond to of 23519

RT. From HVSF 10-KSB: << The Company's core technology is covered by a U.S. patent. On August 18, 1997, the Company received a Notification of Allowance for Patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for "PGE1 CONTAINING LYOPHILIZED LIPOSOMES FOR USE IN THE TREATMENT OF ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION". This is the active drug agent used in the Company's Male Intraurethral, Male Topical and Female Topical Products. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Patent Number 5,718,917 to the Company on February 17, 1998. >> They patented the drug formulation only, VVUS is covered on this side. Regarding the 2nd patent (from the NYT), the other side will have the same legal costs, so we may get sattelment out of court. Regards Amots

To: RT who wrote (21391)	4/26/1999 3:49:00 PM
From: VLAD	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 23519

RT, A word on patents. Vivus really wouldn't do anything to any company that might infringe on one of their patents unless that company tried taking a product to market. The other company would first have to commit a ton of $$$ on Phase I/II/III trials and then licensing costs etc. etc. etc... No company in their right mind would spend this type of $$ unless they felt that the could prevail on a patent infringement law suit that would occur AFTER they spent tens of millions to get to the stage where they had a marketable FDA approved product. From the info I have it doesn't look like this husband/wife team would stand a snow ball's chance in hell in a patent infringement suit. So what big pharma company would risk spending a lot of research $$ on a product they could never profit from even if they were able to obtain a marketable product? Do you remember all the bs about scam company HVSF partnering with UpJohn to support phase II trials on the male tranurethral product? Did you wonder why UpJohn would never commit to spending a dime on any HVSF partnering deal? The only thing Jackie See developed was putting alprostadil into liposomes. But that don't mean squat because other companies have the patents regarding how alprostadil will be delivered (Vivus has the transurethral delivery method patent and now the female topical delivery method patented and Machrochem has the male topical alprostadil delivery patent). HVSF even tried to parasite off of Pentech's apomorphine work by claiming to place apomorphine in liposomes. What a joke. BTW HVSF changed their symbol now to VGEN (IMO too much permanent stench related to the old name). As far as the old $5M settlement in Q1 1998. Vivus paid the money to a researcher who was involved with them in the early days. I guess they figured it was easier to wash their hands of the legal costs etc by paying the guy $5M and then for sure having sole ownership of the transurethral delivery patent. In other words it was more an internal dispute than a dispute with an ED competitor.