Three scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel were awarded the patent on a process used in the delivery of the cancer drug Erbitux after a Manhattan federal judge ruled that Aventis and its successor company, ImClone, had copied Weizmann’s research and patented it as their own.
In a 140-page decision, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled Monday that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office must substitute the names of the three Israeli scientists (Michael Sela, Esther Aboud-Pirak and Esther Hurwitz) for the seven now on the patent. The Associated Press quoted lawyers as saying the decision could have a significant impact on the future of Erbitux, the drug made by ImClone, whose founder, Sam Waksal, is now in prison for his role in a stock scandal that also landed Martha Stewart behind bars.
