Bass' Coalition defends IPR strategy

In two responses filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Coalition for Affordable Drugs argued that having an economic motive to file an inter partes review (IPR) petition does not constitute an abuse of process, contending that profit is the motivation behind "nearly every patent and nearly every IPR." The Coalition is controlled by hedge fund manager Kyle Bass.

The Coalition filed the responses after Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) submitted four motions last month requesting sanctions to dismiss the Coalition's IPR petitions, which challenge two of Celgene's patents on Revlimid lenalidomide. Celgene had accused the Coalition of using the IPR process to manipulate the stock prices of public companies and alleged that prior to the IPR filings, someone associated with the Coalition had attempted to obtain payment from Celgene in exchange for withholding the petitions. Celgene requested that the PTO sanction the Coalition "for their abuse and improper use" of IPR proceedings (see BioCentury Extra, July 31). ...