Unigene Laboratories Inc. (UGNE) stock draws strength from property defence
Posted on: September 8th, 2011Written by:
Unigene Laboratories Inc. (OTCBB: UGNE) charged ahead 8.9% to 98 cents Thursday, only a week or so after successfully defending its intellectual property portfolio. Volume for the stock surpassed 118,000 shares, far above its daily average around 39,000.
A news release dated August 30 revealed how on August 25, 2011 the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit declined to revive Apotex Inc.’s counterclaims and bid for summary judgment in Unigene Laboratories Inc.’s suit alleging the generic-drug maker infringed two patents for Fortical®.
The three-judge panel determined that a New York federal court correctly granted Unigene summary judgment that one of the claims of Unigene’s U.S. Patent Number RE40,812E was not obvious as well as rejected Apotex’s other attempts to invalidate the patent.
Company vice president Greg Mayes, was quoted thus in the August 25 release: “This is a very important decision for Unigene. Not only does this decision finally put the intellectual property litigation behind us and eliminate the prospect for further litigation costs and distraction, it clearly validates the ways in which we protect, prosecute, maintain and ultimately partner our robust IP portfolio.
Mayes continued, “Oral delivery partners can expect that our IP is fully enforceable and like the nasal spray patent, will survive the scrutiny of some of the highest courts in the land. This successful outcome sends a strong message of our confidence in and our commitment to defending the future paths our IP takes.”
Unigene, located in Boonton, New Jersey, is a leader in the design, delivery, manufacture and development of peptide-based therapeutics. The Company is building a robust portfolio of proprietary partnerships in this expanding drug class based on its Peptelligence™ platform. Peptelligence encompasses extensive intellectual property covering delivery and manufacturing technologies, unsurpassed research and development expertise, and proprietary know-how representing a genuine distinctive competence.
