Repligen claims patent suit on B-MS' Orencia

US drugmaker Repligen and the University of Michigan have jointly filed a complaint against drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb in the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for infringement of a US patent entitled Methods of Treating Autoimmune Disease via CTLA4-Ig, which covers methods of using this immunoglobin to treat rheumatoid arthritis, as well as other therapeutic methods.

On December 23, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved B-MS' application to market CTLA4-Ig under the brand name Orencia, for treatment of RA. Walter Herlihy, Repligen's chief executive, said that the patent recognizes important inventions made by its academic and government licensors and he stressed that Repligen fully intends to pursue its patent rights by seeking a royalty-bearing license agreement with B-MS "whether through litigation or negotiation."

The Waltham, Massachussetts-based drugmaker, which is focused on neuropsychiatric and autoimmune disorders, has exclusive rights to the patent from its owners, the University of Michigan and the US Navy.