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Our Know-How
Our life sciences department handles intellectual property in the entire field of biotechnology, biology,
including microbiology and molecular biology, genetics, clinical sciences and plant genetics. Examples relate to
cloned genes of any type the production of recombinant proteins of any kind, including their tailored glycosylation, various kinds of antibodies (monoclonal, single chain, humanized, recombinant,
etc.),nucleic acid amplification processes, RNAi, aptamers, ribozymes, antisense RNA,DNA polymerases, transgenic
plants and animals, vaccines, recombinant viruses, syntheses of nonribosomal antibiotics, biological implants and
many more. Furthermore, the department, together with the chemistry department, deals with pharmaceutical and
pharmacological inventions with respect to classic chemical active ingredients and also recombinant agents,
sometimes identified by means of combinatorial chemistry or high throughput screenings.
Our Business
VOSSIUS & PARTNER has been one of the leading firms in Europe in the biotechnological field of life
sciences for a long time. As early as the mid-1980s, VOSSIUS & PARTNER was involved in the γ-interferon
case, which resulted in a landmark decision issued by the European Patent Office and established the
possibility of broadly wording DNA claims by using hybridization terminology. The claims were subsequently
also successfully defended in a German infringement litigation.
In the 1990s, VOSSIUS & PARTNER was involved in the erythropoietin opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office and in the parallel infringement proceedings in Germany. In the γ-interferon case, the firm was able to obtain the first compulsory license ever issued by the German Federal Patent Court in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Another important achievement of VOSSIUS & PARTNER is a leading decision issued by the Enlarged Board of Appeal with respect to the controversial patenting of plants. According to that decision, transgenic plants can be claimed as long as the invention cannot only be carried out in certain species and the patent claim is not directed to a specific species.
Early in the firm's history, VOSSIUS & PARTNER also successfully represented protective rights based on inventions for which the Nobel Prize had been awarded. In the field of biotechnology, these patents included PCR and ribozymes. VOSSIUS & PARTNER also successfully represented the patentee in the Taq polymerase case. The biotechnology team has also assisted its clients in going public. In addition, the team has ample experience in drafting validity and infringement opinions, as well as in conducting due diligence investigations.
VOSSIUS & PARTNER was also successful in the field of humanized antibodies, for example cases dealing with the patentability of the foundational patents and in a series of cases relating to herceptin. They involved complex opposition proceedings and litigation before German infringement courts, the German Federal Patent Court and the European Patent Office.
Current topics include a further plant biotech case before the Enlarged Board of Appeal, breast cancer diagnosis, humanized glycoprotein, specifically glycosylated antibodies, DNA inventions made within the framework of large sequence analysis projects, and the much-discussed field of what is referred to as research tools. Presently we are also involved in infringement cases relating to pregnancy and virus diagnostics.
VOSSIUS & PARTNER has also made a name for itself in the pharmaceutical and clinical science areas of life sciences by representing important patents, sometimes together with the partners from the chemistry department. The active pharmaceutical ingredients G-CSF, flomoxef, ceftibuten, merophem, fleroxacin, coroconazole, rosuvastatin and omeprazole, as well as phlebosclerosation agents are worth mentioning in this respect. The department has extensive experience in the registration and enforcement of Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) and also handles questions concerning the approval of drugs and document protection.
Our Team
The partners in our life sciences department have university degrees in various fields of biology and pharmacology
and are supported by associates with a broad scientific background in all specialized areas of biotechnology and
pharmaceutics.