Cambridge Biotech Corp. diagnostics/imaging news

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court ruled that the Worcester, Mass., company's Western blot confirmatory test for HIV-1 infringes U.S. Patent No. 5,217,861 issued to Institut Pasteur, and enjoined the company from the manufacture and sale of the test.

The court upheld the company's license under two U.S. Patents (Nos. 5,055,391 and 5,051,496) issued to Institut Pasteur for diagnostic tests for the HIV-2 strain of the virus. The court ruled that the patents were validly licensed to Cambridge Biotech under an agreement with Pasteur Sanofi Diagnostics, which is the licensee of the Institut Pasteur patents. Institut Pasteur and Genetic Systems filed suit in March 1995. ...