ZymoGenetics seeks a piece of Enbrel

Filing a patent infringement suit nearly four years after a product hits the market may seem a little late. But ZymoGenetics Inc., which was spun out of Novo Nordisk A/S less than two years ago and finished its IPO in January, believes it has a case that its patents are being infringed by Immunex Corp.'s Enbrel rheumatoid arthritis drug.

ZGEN last week filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging that IMNX infringes its U.S. Patents Nos. 5,843,725; 6,018,026; 6,291,212 B1; 6,291,646 B1; 6,300,099 B1; and 6,323,323 B1. The patents cover methods for producing secreted receptor analogs and biologically active peptide dimers as well as ligand-binding, dimerized polypeptide fusions comprising two polypeptide chains. ...