BIO's Jim Greenwood addresses the challenges of Kyle Bass to patent claims on Acorda's Ampyra
A press release from BusinessWire presented the opinion of BIO's Jim Greenwood
on the recent activities of Kyle Bass:
The following statement may be attributed to BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood:
“Billionaire hedge fund manager Kyle Bass continues to attack biotechnology companies with endless series of Inter Parte Review (IPR) challenges to legitimate patents. Bass has filed more than a dozen such IPR challenges in August alone. The most recent examples – four new IPR filings yesterday against Acorda Therapeutics – are particularly egregious, coming on the heels of Bass’ prior failed attempt to attack two of those same patents covering Acorda’s innovative multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra.
“The fact that a hedge fund or others can file endless challenges to the same patents over and over again, forcing small companies like Acorda to divert their time, attention and limited resources to fighting these improper attacks rather than focusing on bringing new cures to patients, is outrageous and offensive. His abuse of this system highlights the need for reform.
“BIO again calls on the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and Congress to quickly take action to stop this abuse, which is threatening to undermine the medical innovation system in this country.”
IPBiz notes that the AIA, in defining the procedure for IPRs, expressly allowed third-party non-competitors
to file IPRs. The same was true for the IPR predecessor, inter partes re-examination.
In the specific case of the Bass challenge to a patent on Acorda's Ampyra, PTAB denied institution of an IPR
on the basis that Bass had not presented sufficient evidence that the art in question qualified as
a printed publication under the guidelines set out in Klopfenstein case, which determined that the poster
presentation in that case was a "printed publication." The PTAB ruling did not address whether or not
the prior art (Goodman) would have rendered the Acorda claims invalid. This decision invited additional
filings by Bass, which is indeed an unfortunate result for Acorda.
FiercePharma has a post on the issue including the words "death squads"; upon visiting it one obtains:
The website that you're trying to reach is having technical difficulties and is currently unavailable.
We are aware of the issue and are working hard to fix it. Thank you for your patience.
on the recent activities of Kyle Bass:
The following statement may be attributed to BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood:
“Billionaire hedge fund manager Kyle Bass continues to attack biotechnology companies with endless series of Inter Parte Review (IPR) challenges to legitimate patents. Bass has filed more than a dozen such IPR challenges in August alone. The most recent examples – four new IPR filings yesterday against Acorda Therapeutics – are particularly egregious, coming on the heels of Bass’ prior failed attempt to attack two of those same patents covering Acorda’s innovative multiple sclerosis drug Ampyra.
“The fact that a hedge fund or others can file endless challenges to the same patents over and over again, forcing small companies like Acorda to divert their time, attention and limited resources to fighting these improper attacks rather than focusing on bringing new cures to patients, is outrageous and offensive. His abuse of this system highlights the need for reform.
“BIO again calls on the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and Congress to quickly take action to stop this abuse, which is threatening to undermine the medical innovation system in this country.”
IPBiz notes that the AIA, in defining the procedure for IPRs, expressly allowed third-party non-competitors
to file IPRs. The same was true for the IPR predecessor, inter partes re-examination.
In the specific case of the Bass challenge to a patent on Acorda's Ampyra, PTAB denied institution of an IPR
on the basis that Bass had not presented sufficient evidence that the art in question qualified as
a printed publication under the guidelines set out in Klopfenstein case, which determined that the poster
presentation in that case was a "printed publication." The PTAB ruling did not address whether or not
the prior art (Goodman) would have rendered the Acorda claims invalid. This decision invited additional
filings by Bass, which is indeed an unfortunate result for Acorda.
FiercePharma has a post on the issue including the words "death squads"; upon visiting it one obtains:
The website that you're trying to reach is having technical difficulties and is currently unavailable.
We are aware of the issue and are working hard to fix it. Thank you for your patience.
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 8:28 AM
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