Cambridge, UK, 19 September 2014: Kymab Limited, a monoclonal antibody biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the European Patent Office (EPO) has granted Kymab’s request to entirely revoke European Patent EP1,360,287B1, owned by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. The revoked patent sought to cover genetically modified mice containing mouse antibody variable region loci that had been replaced with human variable region loci. Following an oral hearing before the Opposition Division of the EPO on the 17th September 2014, the EPO agreed with Kymab that Regeneron’s claimed mouse invention is unpatentable since it lacks an inventive step as required by European patent law.
In addition to Kymab, both Novo Nordisk A/S and Merus B.V. opposed the patent. Regeneron will have the opportunity to appeal this decision to the Appeal Board of the European Patent Office.
ENDS
About Kymab
Kymab is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of fully human monoclonal antibody drugs using its proprietary Kymouse™ transgenic antibody platform.
Kymouse™ has been designed to maximise the diversity of human antibodies produced in response to immunisation with antigens. Selecting from a broad diversity of fully human antibodies assures the highest probability of finding that rare drug candidate with best-in-class characteristics. Kymab is using the platform for its internal drug discovery programmes and in partnership with pharmaceutical companies. The first Kymouse™ antibody discovery agreement was concluded with Novo Nordisk in 2013.
Founded in 2009, Kymab raised US$30 million of equity financing in 2010 from the investment division of the Wellcome Trust, and successfully raised US$40 million in a Series B financing in May 2014 from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an existing investor, the Wellcome Trust, each investing US$20 million. Kymab has an experienced management team with a successful track record in drug discovery and development and has 10 current therapeutic antibody discovery programmes in cancer and inflammation. For further information, please visit www.kymab.com.
For further information contact:
Kymab:
Christian Groendahl, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +44 (0)12 2383 3301, Email: christian.groendahl@kymab.com
Hume Brophy:
Mary Clark, Hollie Vile and Supriya Mathur
Tel: +44 (0)20 3440 5653, Email: kymab@humebrophy.com
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