Valentis files suit against Alza for patent infringement.Valentis, Inc. (Burlingame, CA; 650-697-1900) confirmed a Bloomberg report that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PolyMASC Pharmaceuticals, has filed a lawsuit against ALZA Corporation (Palo Alto, CA) for patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. based on ALZA's manufacture and sale of its liposomal products, Doxil and Caelyx. Through the lawsuit, PolyMASC is asking the court to find that ALZA has infringed PolyMASC's patent . PolyMASC is seeking monetary damages and enhanced damages should the court find that ALZA's infringement was willful. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court United States District Court In the U.S., any of the 94 trial courts of general jurisdiction in the federal judicial system. Each state, as well as the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has at least one federal district court. in Delaware, and alleges infringement of United States Patent Number 6,132,763, titled "Liposomes Liposomes Aqueous compartments enclosed by lipid bilayer membranes; liposomes are also known as lipid vesicles. Phospholipid molecules consist of an elongated nonpolar (hydrophobic) structure with a polar (hydrophilic) structure at one end. ." The patent, issued October 17, 2000, is based on early pioneering work by PolyMASC inventors and is directed towards PEGylated liposomes (liposomes having polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains attached). Doxil and Caelyx are PEGylated liposomes encapsulating the drug doxorubicin doxorubicin /doxo·ru·bi·cin/ (dok?so-roo´bi-sin) an antineoplastic antibiotic, produced by Streptomyces peucetius, which binds to DNA and inhibits nucleic acid synthesis; used as the hydrochloride salt and as a liposome-encased . Doxil is approved in the United States for the treatment of refractory ovarian cancer and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma; Caelyx is marketed in Europe and Canada for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma and in Canada for breast cancer. Liposomes are used to improve the efficacy of small molecule drugs by encapsulating them in lipids. PEGylation of liposomes modifies the circulation of the liposomes in the body, enhancing tumor localization Customizing software and documentation for a particular country. It includes the translation of menus and messages into the native spoken language as well as changes in the user interface to accommodate different alphabets and culture. See internationalization and l10n. and reducing non-specific uptake in normal tissues. Together, Valentis and its wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. PolyMASC Pharmaceuticals, currently have corporate collaborations with Roche Holdings, Eli Lilly, Glaxo Wellcome, Boehringer Ingelheim, Heska Corporation, Transkaryotic Therapies, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Viragen, and Bayer International, and a manufacturing partnership (the pAlliance) with DSM 1. DSM - Data Structure Manager. An object-oriented language by J.E. Rumbaugh and M.E. Loomis of GE, similar to C++. It is used in implementation of CAD/CAE software. DSM is written in DSM and C and produces C as output. Biologics and Qiagen N.V. Additional information about Valentis can be found at www.valentis.com. |
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