BIO files Amicus Brief supporting rehearing en banc in Helsinn v. Teva Phamaceuticals (US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (“BIO”) (formerly: Biotechnology Industry Organization) is the principal trade association representing the biotechnology industry domestically and abroad. BIO has more than 1,000 members, which span the for-profit and non-profit sectors and range from small start-up companies and biotechnology centers to research universities and Fortune 500 companies. Approximately 90% of BIO’s corporate members are small or midsize enterprises that have annual revenues of under $25 million, and that count their patents among their most valuable business assets. Because modern biotechnological products commonly involve lengthy, resource and investment-intensive development periods, BIO’s members depend heavily on robust patent rights and a fair system for adjudicating their validity. Accordingly, certainty regarding the types of transactions and what must be publicly disclosed about those transactions to qualify as invalidating activities under the on-sale bar of the America Invents Act (AIA) is of great importance to BIO.

BIO has no direct stake in the result of this appeal and takes no position on the ultimate validity of the patents at issue. No counsel for a party authored this brief in whole or in part, and no such counsel or party, nor any person other than the amicus curiae or its counsel, made a monetary contribution intended to fund the preparation or submission of this brief. This brief reflects the consensus view of BIO’s members, but not necessarily the view of any individual member.