NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[biosectinvestor]

Agreed. It is not a requirement that they work with Keytruda. But Merck is in a good position should it want to work together. There is no denying that truth.

They key thing to realize is the patent gives NWBO freedom to operate, including the rejected provisions, potentially as they are potentially revivable with a backward date of filing, AND the patent gives broad license to combine with a class of drugs, not only Keytruda. Any drug company that wants can work to license that patent, perhaps even before Merck puts an offer on the table, once the patent is granted.

The original patent filing was even broader, and again, was duly filed, so 1) another company trying to file a claim, for a combination with DCVax, say with another cancer, and maybe Car-T in combination with DCVax or some other therapeutic drug, would have a prior filed claim to contend with; and 2) no currently approved PD-L1/PD-1 drug would be likely to have a basis for blocking combinations with DCVax, by doctors, even if the patent is not granted, because the patent application was already filed by NWBO. Freedom to operate. But I expect NWBO will get the patent as well, enhancing their freedom more than just a pending or abandoned applications (or discarded claims therein that were “abandoned” for now) would.

They wrote their initial combination claims extremely broadly for numerous reasons, and strategically is was a brilliant move.

So it will be interesting to see what kind of drama that patent could create.