PIJIP's IP at the Supreme Court Event on Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi Quoted in Nature
March 31, 2023
A Nature article about Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi quoted Michael Penn's comments at PIJIP's event on the case, which was argued before the Supreme Court this week. Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi deals with the scope of claims that can be covered by a patent. Specifically, the court will determine whether enablement is governed by the statutory requirement that the specification teach those skilled in the art to 'make and use' the claimed invention, or whether it must instead enable those skilled in the art 'to reach the full scope of claimed embodiments' without undue experimentation—i.e., to cumulatively identify and make all or nearly all embodiments of the invention without substantial 'time and effort.'
The article quotes Penn's comments about the possible effect of a ruling on biotech investment:
A decision against Amgen could discourage investors from taking a risk on other biotechnology companies as well, said Michael Penn, vice-president of intellectual property at Instil Bio, a company that is developing cell therapies in Dallas, Texas, at a meeting hosted by the American University Washington College of Law in Washington DC after oral arguments. “When they see patents getting squeezed and patent breadth getting squeezed year for year, that investment goes elsewhere,” he said. “That’s the fear.”
The event at which Penn was speaking was part of PIJIP's IP at the Supreme Court series. PIJIP regularly invites counsel of record and counsel for selected amici to offer post-argument reflections in intellectual property (and related) cases heard by the Supreme Court. These events are held on the afternoon of oral argument before the Court.
Click here for the full Nature Article