Following requests for re-examination by PUBPAT, the USPTO has found Gilead’s US Patent Nos. 5922695, 5977089, 5935946 and 6043230 (which cover the intermediate compound Tenofovir Disoproxil and its salt, Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate) invalid. Copies of PUBPAT’s submissions and the USPTO’s Orders can be found here.
The USPTO has found that the prior art submitted by PUBPAT, which mirrors that submitted by I-MAK on behalf of INP+ in its oppositions against Gilead’s corresponding patents in India (2076/DEL/1997 and 896/DEL/2002), invalidate all Gilead’s claims.
Gilead now has an opportunity to respond to the USPTO’s Orders. But, with the hearings for the related Indian patents due in the early part of this year, the USPTO’s decisions serve to strengthen the oppositions in India.