United States Patent and Trademark Office Upholds Key Santaris Pharma A/S LNA Patents in Two Re-Examination Cases Brought by Isis Pharmaceuticals

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that it has won two significant patent re-examination cases brought by Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ISIS).

The positive rulings by the United States Patent and Trademark Office cover two key Santaris Pharma A/S "Imanishi" patents, U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,490 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,748,, which claim rights to the Locked Nucleic Acid or Bicyclic Nucleic Acid chemical structure used for developing antisense molecules.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office revoked the ex parte re-examination of the '490 patent and provided a Notice of Intent to Issue a Reexamination Certificate that confirms the patentability of all claims of the '490 patent owned by Santaris Pharma A/S and is not subject to appeal. In addition, the USPTO issued an Action Closing Prosecution in the inter-partes re-examination of '748 patent, which is a continuation-in-part of the ‟490 patent, confirming all of the original claims.