Sunlight Research's report analyzes Amgen EPO US patent portfolio

Sep 14 2009

Sunlight Research((TM)) - The Source for Patent Analysis today announced the release of its report analyzing Amgen, Inc.'s Erythropoietin (EPO) US patent portfolio.

The Report analyzes the patent claims coverage of 38 US patents owned or controlled by Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), and explains how those patents do or do not cover the corresponding technology used in their commercial product Epogen. The technology focuses on recombinant erythropoietin, pharmaceutical compositions comprising erythropoietin, human erythropoietin gene sequences and the combination of erythropoietin with other proteins, such as stem cell factor.

Daniel A. Halpern, President of Sunlight Research, LLC remarked, "Anyone interested in the development, manufacture or use of biologics in the US should get a copy of our report. EvaluatePharma has predicted that, 'six of the top ten drugs in 2014 will be biologics.' The total projected annual sales of 'the six' are estimated to be in excess of $ 50 billion." Halpern added that, "the development of follow-on biologics will also depend upon the patent protection of well known biologicals, such as EPO."

Sunlight's Amgen EPO patents report includes a detailed breakdown of claim limitations including composition limitations, therapy limitations, DNA sequence limitations, and biological activity limitations relating to Amgen's Epogen drug. The report provides insights into strengths and weaknesses of Amgen's patent coverage, and opportunities for adjacent or competing products.

Epogen, a drug that is manufactured by recombinant DNA technology (est. US sales in 2008 of $2.5 Billion), is approved by the FDA for the treatment of anemia for multiple indications and for the reduction of allogenic blood transfusion in surgery patients who are at high risk for perioperative blood loss.

The Report, delivered in Adobe PDF format, analyzes each independent claim of each patent in the portfolio and includes a Patent Portfolio Map, a Commercial Product Map and an Interactive Freedom To Operate Map, delivered in Microsoft Excel format, as well as Figures with detailed DNA and Amino Acid Sequences.

"The primary, distinct advantage of Sunlight Research reports is that our analyses are made at the individual claims level and involve expert assessment of patent strength on the basis of key parameters," remarked Halpern. He added that, "Our reports are cost-effective and easy-to-use decision support tools for a variety of strategic analyses, including freedom to operate, patentability and validity."