A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Kevin Conroy, president/CEO of Third Wave Technologies (Madison, Wisconsin), in a company statement, has issued a response regarding the interrogatory response recently provided to Third Wave and filed by Digene (Gaithersburg, Maryland) with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

In that litigation, Digene alleges that Third Wave infringes its U.S. Patent No. 5,643,715 covering probes and methods for detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) type 52, a high-risk type of HPV.

In Third Wave’s response, Conroy said that Digene wrote that it “... believes that it will not be able to sustain its claim of infringement against Third Wave’s [HPV] analyte specific reagent[s]... ” He said that this conclusion was made “in light of the court’s Markman order favorable to Third Wave, the court’s denial of Digene’s request to reconsider that order, and Digene’s analysis of material provided to it by Third Wave as part of discovery for the upcoming trial.”

Digene, he said, “disagrees with the court’s Markman order and reconsideration denial and reserves the right to appeal them and any unfavorable ruling made as a result of them.”

The most recent Digene court filing is posted at www.twt.com.

“Third Wave’s confidence in our freedom to operate in the HPV market has never wavered,” Conroy said. ”Our confidence is founded on our painstaking understanding of the HPV patent landscape and on the unique way in which our Invader chemistry works. While this matter is not closed, it is telling that after two unfavorable court rulings and a more detailed examination of Third Wave’s chemistry and product, Qiagen, Digene’s new parent, arrived at the same conclusion we did: Third Wave’s product does not infringe.

“In that trial, we are asking the court to halt Digene’s longstanding, unlawful and anti-competitive business practices, and to compensate Third Wave for its damages.”

Earlier this month, Third Wave reported that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin had issued an order denying a motion by Digene for reconsideration of the court’s July Markman opinion.

Third Wave develops molecular diagnostic reagents for DNA and RNA analysis applications, based on its Invader chemistry for clinical testing.

In other patent news: Applied NeuroSolutions (APNS; Vernon Hills, Illinois), a company focused on the treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), reported a U.S. Patent, titled “Novel Saitohin Gene and Uses of Same,” was issued to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM; Bronx, New York).

APNS has exclusive rights to this patent for use in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, through its licensing agreements with AECOM. The inventors on the patent are Peter Davies, PhD, APNS’s founding scientist, and Chris Conrad PhD.

“This patent is a welcome addition to our existing IP estate and further strengthens our tau- based approach to treating and detecting AD,” said Ellen Hoffing, president/CEO of APNS. “This composition of matter patent provides APNS with the opportunity to combine our unique knowledge of the role of the tau gene and its connection with the STH gene as we focus on the development and commercialization of both diagnostics and therapeutics for Alzheimer’s patients.”