Biotech, Patents, Life Sciences

Ariad Loses Patent Case Against Amgen

Luke Timmerman 9/22/08

Ariad Pharmaceuticals said today it lost a patent lawsuit filed against Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company. Cambridge, MA-based Ariad (NASDAQ: ARIA) the U.S. District Court in Delaware said Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel doesn’t infringe on Ariad’s patent on reducing NF-(kappa) B activity. Ariad holds an exclusive license on the patent, called ‘516, from discoveries by David Baltimore, Phillip Sharp and Tom Manaitis at MIT, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and Harvard University. Ariad CEO Harvey Berger said the company plans to pursue “appropriate legal action” to review the court’s decision.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can email him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or call 206-624-2374.