Ablynx prevails in European nanobody patent dispute with Domantis (GSK)

Belgium's Ablynx says it has been successful in the opposition that it had filed in 2007 against the European Patent 1 517 921, which was granted in 2006 to Domantis (a UK company acquired by drug giant GlaxoSmithKline in late 2006 for £230 million; $359.8 million to access the firm's antibody therapies development program).

As a result, the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office yesterday decided to revoke the Domantis patent in full. If this decision becomes final, all the claims of this patent as originally granted will be deemed to have never existed, said Ablynx.

The European Patent 1 517 921 related to one specific technique for the half-life extension of immunoglobulin single variable domains. Without this patent, the techniques described in this patent can be applied by Ablynx and its partners in Europe for their internal and partnered programs without Domantis being able to assert this patent against such activities in Europe, the Belgian firm noted.

Edwin Moses, chief executive and chairman of Ablynx, commented: "This is the result that we always anticipated. From all the evidence available to us, we strongly believe that our current half-life extension technologies currently outperform those of GSK/Domantis, and that, once this patent has been finally revoked, we and our partners can be confident that we will have yet another half-life extension technology available to us that we can use without being encumbered by third party patent rights.'