In the case of invalidation of the Eurasian patent No. 018573 on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Astana court refused to satisfy the plaintiff’s claims.

Eurasian Patent No. 018573, valid on the territory of eight EAPO member states, as well as the Republic of Moldova, protects the group of inventions “Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors” (ITB) — special protein compounds. They are widely used in drugs for the treatment of cancer, including lymphoma, drugs for autoimmune and heteroimmune diseases, and in 2020, ITB was tested to relieve inflammation in severe COVID-19.

The patent for the invention was granted under application No. 200900351 dated December 28, 2006 to Pharmacyclics LLC (Pharmacyclics ELELSI). The specified Eurasian patent is valid on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan until December 28, 2023. This period may be extended for three years or more, subject to registration of the relevant medicinal product in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In substantiation of the requirements of the Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical Company “Eleas”, which demanded to recognize this patent invalid on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, arguments were put about the lack of novelty and inventive level of inventions protected by Eurasian patent No. 018573.

The Specialized Interdistrict Economic Court of Astana, having studied the case and examined the evidence, came to the conclusion that the stated claims were denied. The Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) sent a request to participate in the process as a third party, however, the court session was held on the day when the documents on the participation of EAPO had not yet been delivered from Moscow to Astana.

— The decision of the Astana city court is another proof of the reliability of the Eurasian patent and the quality of the examination of the Eurasian Patent Office, — commented on the results of the dispute, President of the EAPO Grigory Ivliev. — We intend to continue to participate in the processes in which one of the parties challenges the decisions of the Office or the validity of Eurasian patents. We will actively defend the point of view of our examiners. I note that in the case of the creation of a single Eurasian jurisdiction in the field of IP, as the Office suggests, challenging the validity of Eurasian patents or confirming their validity, challenging the decisions of the EAPO will become much easier, more convenient and more profitable from an economic point of view.

The decision of the Specialized Interdistrict Economic Court of Astana dated February 14, 2023 (Case No. 7119-22-00-2/12268) may be appealed within one month from the date of its final dicision.