RGEN Braden read this:
Repligen Shares Finish Up on Orencia OK
Tuesday December 27, 5:19 pm ET
Repligen Shares Close Up 19 Percent on FDA Approval for Drug Ingredient It Claims Patent To
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Repligen Corp. spiked Tuesday after investors learned it claims to own the patent for an ingredient in a newly approved drug.
Repligen shares closed up 61 cents, or 19 percent, at $3.80 on the Nasdaq, after the company was mentioned on a midday cable business news program, and investors took note of its claims to a patent for a component of a treatment that got a nod from the Food and Drug Administration before the holiday weekend.
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Shares earlier hit a new 52-week high of $4.24. In aftermarket electronic trading, Repligen shares added another 4 cents.
Late Friday, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said the FDA approved a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease that afflicts more than 2 million Americans. The drug, abatacept, is to be marketed as Orencia.
Repligen claims on its Web site to hold the U.S. patent that covers the use of the active compound in Orencia for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, CTLA4-Ig, for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4, and specifically mentions the Bristol-Myers FDA application for Orencia.
Repligen also said it owns the rights to a European patent with similar treatment claims. The U.S. patent is in force until 2021, and in Europe until 2013, according to the Web site.
Representatives for Repligen could not be immediately reached for comment.
Analyst Elemer Piros of Rodman and Renshaw said in a research note it "appears that Bristol-Myers may have to seek a license from Repligen in order to have freedom to operate" or face triple damages if a court finds they infringed on the patent.
"Given this situation, we expect either a swift settlement during the next 60 days or a legal battle between the parties," Piros wrote. Bristol-Myers said Friday it expects to launch the drug in February.
"The settlement size is likely to be considerable, given that the potential peak annual sales for Orencia are estimated at $1 billion in the rheumatoid arthritis market," Piros speculated.
However, Piros did outline in his note a history of litigation regarding the patent that did not go Repligen's way, and he said the two companies are at a stalemate over the matter.
Bristol-Myers spokesman David Rosen said the company is aware of Repligen's "method of use patent," but said that did not imply any acknowledgement that the patent applies to Orencia. Rosen could not say whether the companies are in discussions to resolve any conflict, but he was "not aware of any ongoing litigation" concerning the claims.
Bristol-Myers shares closed up 15 cents, at $23.09 on the New York Stock Exchange, and added another penny in aftermarket activity.
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