BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/15/08 -- Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., a Bostonintellectual property law firm, has announced that, on behalf of itsclient, Shire Pharmaceuticals, it has recently obtained an additional 1,126days of patent term for ELAPRASE (idursulfase), a treatment for patientswith Hunter Syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis II, MPS II). Hunter syndrome isa rare, life-threatening genetic condition that results from the absence orinsufficient levels of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase. Withoutthis enzyme, cellular waste products accumulate in tissues and organs,which then begin to malfunction.Shire's ELAPRASE product is the first and only treatment approved forpeople suffering from Hunter syndrome. The product, which is given asweekly infusions, replaces the missing enzyme that Hunter syndrome patientsfail to produce in sufficient quantities.
Shire is the exclusive licensee of patent #5,932,211 ('211 patent), whichcovers ELAPRASE. The '211 patent had an original expiration date of August3, 2016. The Certificate Extending Patent Term extends the expiration ofthe '211 patent up to September 3, 2019 -- more than an additional 3 years.The market for ELAPRASE is estimated to exceed $300 million/year.
The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (knownas the "Hatch-Waxman Act") established the ability for companies to recoupsome of the patent term lost during the lengthy FDA approval processrequired to market a drug, biologic, or medical device in the US.
Wolf Greenfield attorneys have assisted clients with Patent Term Extensionissues for drugs, biologics, and medical devices. Shareholder MichaelSiekman is available as expert source on issues relating to patent termextensions.
Founded in 1986, Shire Limited is a global specialty biopharmaceuticalcompany with revenues for the full year 2007 of $2.44 billion. Its worldheadquarters are in Basingstoke, UK and its US headquarters are in Wayne,Pennsylvania.
Wolf Greenfield, the largest law firm in New England devoted exclusively tointellectual property law, serves companies that make everything frompharmaceuticals to software to electronics to snowboards, as well asrepresenting academic research centers. The firm counsels clients in theareas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, trade secrets, andrelated licensing and litigation. Web: www.wolfgreenfield.com
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Contact:
Henry Stimpson
Stimpson Communications
508-647-0705
HStimpson@StimpsonCommunications.com
Sara Crocker
Wolf Greenfield
617-646-8231
scrocker@wolfgreenfield.com
