Press Release
New York, April 3, 2009 – The intellectual property law firm Kenyon & Kenyon LLP has persuaded a district court in Virginia to overturn a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) decision regarding a significant patent term extension for client Photocure.
With the decision, Photocure’s patent on its Metvixia drug product, which is used to treat skin cancer, will not expire until 2018. Under the earlier decision by the PTO, the patent would have expired in 2016. This extension is based on a provision in the patent statute that provides patent owners – like Photocure – with an extended patent term when they are delayed in commercializing their inventions by the lengthy and expensive FDA approval process.
Kenyon & Kenyon partner John Bateman, lead counsel on the case for Photocure, said: “We’re glad that the court adopted Photocure's interpretation of the statute and granted summary judgment in Photocure's favor.”
Besides Bateman, the Kenyon team included Kenyon & Kenyon partners Richard DeLucia and Deborah Somerville, and associates Lawrence Frank and Erik Kane.
About Kenyon & Kenyon LLP
Kenyon & Kenyon is consistently ranked by peers and in-house counsel as one of the top firms for intellectual property law. Since its founding in 1879, the firm has provided its worldwide clientele with litigation, prosecution, licensing and counseling services. Large and small enterprises and individuals choose Kenyon to design and implement intellectual property strategies when it matters most. The firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC and the Silicon Valley.
About Photocure ASA
Photocure ASA is a Norwegian pharmaceutical company listed on Oslo Stock Exchange (PHO). The company develops and sells pharmaceuticals and medical devices based on proprietary photodynamic technology, targeting key dermatology and oncology markets.
Photocure has three products with sales and marketing approvals: Metvixia (known as Metvix outside the United States), for the treatment of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) and pre-cancerous skin lesions (actinic keratosis); Aktilite CL 16 and CL 128, lamps that are intended for use in PDT (photodynamic therapy) in combination with Metvixia; and Hexvix (which is only approved outside the United States), for the detection of bladder cancer. All products are based on the same photodynamic technology, combining the drug known as a photosensitiser with a light source that activates the photosensitiser. Photocure is currently testing both products for new indications and aims to develop a pipeline of follow-on products and technologies.