21st Jan 2019
We explore the reasoning behind the use of animal models, the acknowledged limitations of animal data for predicting treatment effects in humans and the approach taken by the EPO in assessing whether such data can be used to demonstrate a medical use invention.
20th Dec 2018
Second medical use claims are designed to protect substances or compositions for use in new medical treatments. Numerous decisions of the Technical Boards of Appeal of the EPO have confirmed that second medical use claims cannot be used to protect medical devices. However, as is so often the case in patent law, scientific advancements are beginning to blur the technical difference on which the legal distinction between medical devices and substances is based.
29th Nov 2018
The dust has started to settle following the Supreme Court decision in Warner-Lambert v Actavis [2018] UKSC 56 handed down recently. Much of the commentary has focused on the infringement aspect of the decision. In this follow-up blog, we delve deeper into the court’s take on the issue of plausibility.