Duke Loses Patent Claim for Drug Treating Rare Pompe Disease

Duke University lost a bid to preserve one of its patent claims for treatment of a rare neuromuscular disorder, according to an Oct. 10 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

However, the university still holds one claim on the patent and has three other more recent patents for the same drug. Duke will still be able to license the invention to Genzyme, a biotech subsidiary of Sanofi.

As a Rule 36 decision, the Federal Circuit ruling came down with no opinion beyond upholding a prior decision by the Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and ...