Silence Therapeutics works to assure investors as patent litigation continues

Silence Therapeutics updated the market on its ongoing litigation matters on Friday, having previously delivered its claim for declaratory relief relating to its entitlement to Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) on certain Alnylam products.

The AIM-traded firm had named as defendants Alnylam UK, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and The Medicines Company UK.

It said on Friday that Alnylam UK and The Medicines Company UK has now sued to revoke the relevant Silence European patent in the UK, and also included claims for declarations of non-infringement of that European patent by certain Alnylam products.

The Silence board said it regards the actions taken by the defendants as “simply normal course of business" at the commencement of litigation, and continued to believe that certain Alnylam products required a licence under the Silence patent estate.

“During 2017, both the European and US patent offices have continued to uphold the validity of our expanding patent estate with the granting of additional patents,” said Silence CEO Ali Mortazavi.

“We believe that our fundamental chemical modification technology is core foundational innovation for today's RNAi sector, and that therefore those companies using such modification technology within the scope of our intellectual property will require a licence.

“Silence is committed to defending its position and to securing the appropriate recognition and associated value for its IP.”