Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)

[circa1762]

Yeah seems they are saying the claim is too obvious because 2-73 and donepezil have the same basic mechanism of action (agonize sigma-1 and mixed-muscarinic receptors), and so anyone would conclude that it makes sense to combine them. So probably Anavex needs to show where the mechanisms of action differ. Alternatively, maybe the patent needs to be explicitly for a single combined pill rather than just the idea of using them together.

In any case I don't see the problem even if Anavex doesn't get this patent. As long as the company patents 2-73 for Alz (which is a no-brainer given the existing US patent for use against cancer and the Greek patent for composition), no one else can steal Anavex PLUS because they won't be able to steal Anavex 2-73, which is the only patentable engine behind Anavex PLUS anyway. If Anavex can't patent Anavex PLUS, no one else can either, and Anavex will still have exclusive rights to Anavex PLUS because it will have exclusive rights to Anavex 2-73. Anyone can already do whatever they want with donepezil.