Patent Director Turns Away Pair of Amgen Challenges to Opdivo IP

Challenges to two patents covering dosing options for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.‘s blockbuster Opdivo cancer drug were turned away by the US Patent and Trademark Office, continuing the agency’s move to reduce the number of validity reviews it conducts.

Acting PTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart, in a short decision issued Thursday, denied Amgen Inc.‘s petitions for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to review US Patent Nos. 9,856,320 and 10,174,113, which “have been in force for seven and six years, respectively, creating strong settled expectations for Patent Owner.”

She forwarded a third Amgen challenge, to US Patent No. ...