BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Idenix slides on ongoing patent dispute with Gilead

March 26, 2013 12:43 AM UTC

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IDIX) fell $0.91 (20%) to $3.69 on Monday after an appeals board in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Idenix now has the burden of proof in an ongoing patent dispute with Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) over a class of nucleoside compounds to treat HCV. Idenix now has the burden to show that it invented the technology before Gilead; the company that is found to have invented the technology first will receive patent protection. Idenix said the process to determine who was first to invent is expected to start in 2Q13.

The decision by PTO's Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) overturns a decision last year, which found that Gilead had the burden of proof in the dispute with Idenix (see BioCentury Extra, March 6, 2012). ...