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As a scientist with a background in mechanical engineering and biomaterials, I am always interested in studying the latest developments and trends for new materials and am fascinated by the forefront of biotechnology. In this article I focus on the relatively young field of “Nanomedicine”. My goal is to provide a general overview on the state-of-the-art in this important and growing field and to give a brief introduction of the broad technology areas. In future articles I will feature representative prominent biotechnology companies and research institutes. As pointed out below, a large number of patents have already issued in this area. I also plan to discuss the progress in each subcategory, focusing on product commercialization, research and development, relevant patents, and law or regulatory policies in nanomedicine.

In an interesting case decided last week, the Federal Circuit ruled that it cannot address whether the US Patent and Trademark Office’s 2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility exceeds the scope of the Supreme Court’s decisions in this area.

Interference proceedings for disputed patents relating to the gene-editing technique CRISPR – which Nature recently called “the biggest biotechnology advance since the polymerase chain reaction (PCR),” — continued last week as the parties held an initial conference call with the three USPTO judges presiding over the case.

The following article originated from the CURE NewsAlert:

CURE testified March 8 at the State Capitol in Hartford re S.B. No. 313, An Act Concerning Biological Products, stating that the bill “is in the best interest of patients, the State’s thriving biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and the public at large.”

Dilworth IP is proud to be a sponsor of a young Connecticut inventor at this year’s National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Exposition’s (NICEE). Through the Connecticut Invention Convention, this program will send 30 young inventors from Connecticut to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA to participate in the first-ever national competition for young inventors and entrepreneurs.

On October 26, 1881, Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, along with Doc Holliday met with Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborn, to engage in a form of conflict-resolution in a vacant lot off Fremont Street in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Sheriff Johnny Behan’s efforts at mediation were ultimately unsuccessful, and the rest is history. The dispute between the parties had been long-standing, and it is not clear that there was a defining moment that made the final confrontation a certainty. Such cannot be said of the Federal Circuit’s holding in Lexmark International, Inc., v. Impression Products, Inc., No. 2014-1617, 2014-1619 (Federal Circuit, February 12, 2016)(en banc). In this decision, the Federal Circuit has undoubtedly set the stage for the Supreme Court to resolve issues related to Patent Exhaustion.

This is the first article in a review of patents issued in 2015 in the area of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC). The summary below covers five patents relating to FCC catalyst additives. These include: two related to gasoline sulfur reduction catalysts; two related to metals deactivators/traps; and a ZSM-5 additive patent. Review of this collection of patents illustrates a somewhat subdued activity in additive research activity for the FCC, at least that devoted to patentable activities. To be fair, there are almost double the number of “catalyst” related patents, and some of these are directed to olefin production, which would boost the number in the olefin/octane area. These will be summarized next month. For the sulfur reduction and metals trapping areas, time will tell whether there is a resurgence in these areas.

Dilworth IP will be sponsoring the 2016 Yale Healthcare Case Competition which will be presented by Jackson Laboratories and held Saturday February 27 in Evans Hall at the Yale School of Business

Dilworth IP Partners Dr. Anthony Sabatelli and Mr. Frederick Spaeth will be presenting a talk on Intellectual Property basics at the Quinnipiac University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Friday March 4th at 12:00 PM. The talk will be geared toward prospective inventors and entrepreneurs and will cover key events over the life of a patent, common concerns of the patent process and patentability in biotechnology. For more information on the event, please contact QUCIE@quinnipiac.edu.

Last week, Sandoz, the generic pharmaceuticals division of Novartis, petitioned the Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit decision concerning a case involving Zarxio, its biosimilar version of Amgen’s Neupogen. At issue is the court’s interpretation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA). The BPCIA establishes an alternative pathway for FDA approval of biosimilars and patent-dispute resolution, allowing litigation prior to FDA approval and marketing of biosimilars.