Ablynx, GlaxoSmithKline antibodies news

The Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) upheld a 2005 decision by the EPO's Opposition Division to narrow the claims of ABLX's European Patent No. EP0656946 covering nanobodies. The narrowed patent covers heavy antibody chains that have a charged amino acid or cysteine residue at position 45. The patent originally had claimed antibodies that consist solely of heavy chains (see BioCentury, Sept. 19, 2005). ABLX said it still has exclusive patent protection for its nanobodies. A nanobody is a functional antigen-binding domain derived from an antibody heavy chain. ...