Amgen wins patent suit against TKT in UK

A UK court has upheld one of five patents that Amgen holds on itsantianemia drug Eprex (epoetin alfa), which was enough to keep Transkaryotic Therapies, and partner Aventis, from selling a rival drug in the UK. TKT has the option to appeal the case, which it believes may provide a resolution by mid-2002.

TKT, which was earlier held to have violated a series of US patents belonging to Amgen (Marketletter January 29), has developed a new method of manufacturing erythropoietin, which boosts the body's production of red blood cells and is made by inserting a human gene into hamster cells. TKT's new method involves inducing human cells to make the protein in culture, a process it hoped would bypass Amgen's patents and allow the sale of its version, known as Dynepo, in the UK.

Analyst Dennis Harp of Deutsche Banc Alex Brown told the Associated Press: "it's a battle in one country and the first stage has been won by Amgen. However, in Europe, litigation will occur on a country-by-country basis, so it will be a long, protracted war with opportunities for TKT to win other battlefields." So, although Dynepo is likely to be blocked from UK commercialization, TKT may still be able to market the drug in the rest of Europe.