U.S. PTO grants reissue patent concerning OSI Pharmaceuticals’ Tarceva

Dec 30 2009

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP) today announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) has granted reissue patent RE41,065, replacing Tarceva’s^® (erlotinib) composition of matter patent (formerly No.5,747,498). The Company had applied for the reissue patent in February 2008, and on September 17, 2009 the Company had announced that the PTO had issued a “Notice of Allowance” accepting the Company’s application to correct certain errors relating to the claiming of compounds, other than Tarceva, which had fallen outside of the scope of the main claim of the patent. The reissue patent will have the same November 18, 2018 expiration date (excluding any potential six-month pediatric exclusivity period) as the original ‘498 patent.

“We believe the reissue of the Tarceva patent, which now includes a claim that solely identifies Tarceva, is a highly successful outcome”

“We believe the reissue of the Tarceva patent, which now includes a claim that solely identifies Tarceva, is a highly successful outcome,” stated Colin Goddard, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OSI Pharmaceuticals. “In addition, we view this reissue grant as a positive step in managing generic challenges to the Tarceva patent estate.”