Drug Patents Can Be Defined More Broadly, Amgen Tells Justices

Drugmakers aren’t expected to identify every possible antibody covered by a drug patent in order for the breakthrough treatment to be patent protected, Repatha cholesterol drug maker Amgen Inc. told the Supreme Court in a case poised to define how broadly life sciences companies can write their patent applications.

In a brief filed Tuesday, Amgen argued that patents needn’t spell out every possible iteration of an invention in order to be eligible for protection—a sticking point in the life sciences field as treatments become more complex.

“There may be myriad variations on James Watt’s steam engine or the Wright Brothers’ ...