Hedge fund manager now targeting Shire patents
Shire plc (LSE:SHP; NASDAQ:SHPG) lost $14.07 to $226.90 on the week in New York and fell 265p to 5,160p in London after an entity associated with hedge fund manager Kyle Bass filed two inter partes reviews (IPRs) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office challenging the company's patents for ulcerative colitis drug Lialda mesalamine and Gattex teduglutide to treat short bowel syndrome.
The petitioner, Coalition for Affordable Drugs II, on Tuesday challenged U.S. Patent No. 6,773,720, which covers Lialda and expires in 2020. Lialda is a 5-aminosalicylate (5-ASA) mesalamine formulated using Multi-Matrix system (MMX). According to the petition, the patent's claims covering controlled-release oral pharmaceutical compositions containing 5-ASA to treat inflammatory bowel diseases were "known in the prior art." ...