Enzolytics Inc (ENZC)

[foxi]

The reasoning given was that disclosing anything about ENZC's partners or operations could compromise their ability to secure future patents. That kind of implies the competition now has the capability to perform the same patent-able work. Less alarmingly, competition might notice details ENZC overlooked in its own material and attempt to patent those. Finally, if something becomes known or used in public it becomes harder to patent. So to me the NDAs make sense.

According to U.S. law, a patent cannot be obtained if an invention was previously known or used by other people in the U.S., or was already patented or published anywhere in the world. Furthermore, publicly using or selling an invention more than 1 year prior to filing a patent application completely bars you from ever winning a patent on that invention.

https://www.science.org/content/article/patent-first-publish-later-how-not-ruin-your-chances-winning-patent

But it's a double edged sword, as you noted, since the policy of silence also enables ENZC to underperform with less pressure from shareholders, if it wishes to do so.

The NDAs are a paradigm shift for this company and a good reason for investors to reevaluate their personal risk tolerance. Clearly, some are jumping ship and there's a lot of sell pressure now. Another way to look at it, though, is the company is now beginning to recognize the value of its IP.

The Company is producing fully human monoclonal antibodies against these claimed [HIV] sites. The International Patent Office has now confirmed these discoveries to be novel and inventive, capable of being patented and claimed exclusively for a 20-year term in every member country under the Patent Cooperation Treat in which the Company pursues these claims.

Due to the novel nature of the Company’s discoveries, the Company fully expects the same favorable results in the PCT Patent Office for its pending applications covering epitopes (binding sites) on [a bunch of other viruses.]

The Company considers the forthcoming patent protection highly significant in view of the following facts:
[...]
To accelerate and fully execute the successful production of the multiple monoclonal antibodies, the subject of the Company's intellectual property (specifically the numerous monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting both human and animal viruses), the Company continuously engages with numerous entities to accelerate its progress toward production, testing, and delivery of successful therapeutics. Entities with whom the Company is working include other Biotech Companies having:
[...]
As to each of these entities and those with whom the Company currently works on an ongoing basis, the Company has entered into NDAs (Nondisclosure Agreements) necessary to preserve and protect the Company plans and intellectual property being discussed and exchanged between the parties. These contractual restrictions are critical for the Company and its partners. Maintenance of strict confidentiality is essential to preserving intellectual property rights (patent rights) which are now being sought and will be sought in the future. Premature disclosure of information can bar the right to seek patent protection at a later date. The Company is not able to share specific details regarding arrangements regarding these NDAs.

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