Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A. announces that the opposition they filed against European Patent EP 0466300 B1 to Genzyme Corporation (Cambridge, MA, USA) has been entirely successful. Indeed, Genzyme´s EP patent has been finally revoked in its entirety by the EPO Board of Appeal (decision T 0450/03 of 12 February 2008).
Genzyme´s EP patent claimed biocompatible viscoelastic gel slurries made of a hylan or hyaluronan cross–linked polymer dispersed in an aqueous phase of water–soluble hylan, hyaluronan, polyvinylpyrrolidone or polyethyleneoxide.
According to Genzyme´s EP patent, the claimed ge1 slurries could allegedly be used for very different applications, including controlled drug release, soft tissue augmentation, control of cell movement, prevention of post–surgery tissue adhesion, as a "viscosurgical tool" in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and wound management, and in orthopedics for the treatment of osteoarthritis, such as is promoted for Genzyme´s currently commercialized Synvisc® product.
During the Examination proceedings and during the Opposition first instance proceedings, the original claims of Genzyme´s EP patent application had been revised, but the EPO Board of Appeals found that the scope of the revised patent claims unduly extended to gel slurries, which were not adequately disclosed by the actual content of the original application as filed (contravention to Article 123 EPC).
None of the twelve amended sets of claims that were filed by Genzyme during the proceedings before the EPO Board of Appeal overcame this fundamental deficiency.
As a result, Genzyme has entirely 1ost the EP patent, and there are now no claims left for EP 0466300 B1.
In fact, it is as if this EP patent had never existed at all.
Certain statements in this press release may not be strictly historical and may be forward–looking statements, which are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties.
