Kyle Bass Petition To Challenge Biogen Patent Denied

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The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) declined to hold a trial in connection with the petition of hedge fund manager Kyle Bass to challenge the validity of Biogen’s patent on Tecfidera, a treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Kyle Bass through the Coalition for Affordable Drugs is challenging some of the patents of pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, Celgene and Pharmacyclics. According to the hedge fund manager, his intention is to “lower drug prices for Medicare and everyone.

The Coalition for Affordable Drugs started filing petitions to eliminate major drug patents through a process called an inter-partes review. Kyle Bass’ coalition filed 16 patent petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Kyle Bass argument on Biogen’s Tecfidera patent

Kyle Bass and his coalition argued that Biogen’s Tecfidera patent is obviously given the previously known treatment methods. The Tecfidera patent covers a specific dosing regimen for patients is obvious.

The USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board rejected their argument and ruled, “It is ordered that the Petition is denied as to all challenged claims, and a trial will not be instituted.”

Tecfidera is the leading oral drug for multiple sclerosis. It is considered as the most important near-term growth driver for Biogen. The pharmaceutical company generated $2.9 billion sales from Tecfidera last year.

The stock price of Biogen increased more than 3% to $302.29 per share at the time of this writing around 3:35 in the afternoon on Wednesday.

Last month, the USPTO also rejected the petition of Kyle Bass and his coalition to review the two patents of Acorda Therapeutics related to its flagship multiple sclerosis drug, Amyra.

The hedge fund manager and his coalition continued to file petitions for patent reviews despite the setbacks. Last month, they filed IPR petitions against the patents held bu Hoffman-La Roche, Bristol-Myers, and Aegerion.

Kyle Bass accused of abusing patent process

Pharmaceutical companies such as Celgene accused Kyle Bass of abusing the government review process intended to reject useless patents. In July, Celgene alleged that the real motive of the hedge fund manager and his collation was to make money short-selling the shares of pharmaceutical companies.

Celgene said Kyle Bass and his partners intended to “to line their own pockets at the expense of public pharmaceutical companies and their shareholders.”

In response, Kyle Bass said there’s nothing wrong with shorting stocks, and no evidence proving that he is trying to manipulate any stock price in a July 3 filing related to the Biogen case. He said, “Underlying motivations for filing are simply not relevant.”

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