International law firm Simmons & Simmons is pleased to announce that it has won an award for its work on an intellectual property (IP) case at the Managing IP Awards 2023.
Held in London on June 21, the annual Managing IP Awards are recognised as the leading intellectual property law firm awards event in the legal industry.
Simmons was presented as the winner of an Impact Case of the Year award for its work representing the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the case v INPI.
The case involved an appeal from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to the INPI – the French Patent and Trademark Office – which had rejected its request for a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) – a national intellectual property right that extends a patent right, granted by national offices of European Union member states.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute had sought an SPC for its development of avelumab (the active ingredient in Bavencio), a monoclonal antibody used in immunotherapy to treat different cancers.
The honour of Impact Case of the Year was awarded to the Simmons team following the decision by the Paris Court of Appeal to overturn the INPI decision not to grant an SPC for avelumab.
The outcome of the case could have important ramifications on how the validity of SPCs are analysed in France and Europe. Proceedings and further appeals are ongoing.
The Paris-based Simmons team involved in the Court of Appeal proceedings was led by partner François Jonquères and associate Sabine Borny.
Commenting on the IP award presented to Simmons, Emily Monastiriotis, partner and International Head of Dispute Resolution, said: “We’re pleased that our Paris team have been recognised with this leading award for our work guiding the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in this case – one which may have significant implications for certain intellectual property rights in Europe. Our Paris team’s success in overturning the INPI’s decision through the Court of Appeal means that we have taken an important step in ensuring that the client’s cancer treatment research efforts receive sufficient recognition and reward.”