26 April 2011 was[YA1]  the World Intellectual Property Day, on that date, the State Intellectual Property Office of China issued “Top Ten Reexamination and Invalidation Cases in 2020”, and the patent invalidation case agented by KANGXIN on behalf of the patentee, the Université de Bordeaux in France, was honored to be selected. This case relates to the Chinese patent for invention of which the patent no. is ZL200880111892.5, the patentee is the Université de Bordeaux[y2] , and the title is "USE OF A BETA BLOCKER FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF A MEDICAMENT FOR THE TREATMENT OF HEMANGIOMAS", and in this case, KANGXIN represents [YA3] the patentee of the Université de Bordeaux to versus[YA4]  the invalidation request of the invalidation petitioner, YABAO PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP CO., LTD.

    The patent claims the new use of known drug propranolol used in young children for cardiologic indications and a pharmaceutical salt thereof, and the domestic licensor [YA5] of the patent is Wuhan Kefu New Drug Co., Ltd.

    At present, there is an urgent need for medicines for the treatment of infantile hemangioma. This patent fills this gap. This is a major breakthrough in the treatment of infantile hemangioma and will bring good news to countless infants and young children in the future. As we all know, infantile hemangioma often occurs on the face of infants and young children. Although the disease is not life-threatening, it greatly affects the facial appearance of infants and young children, and has a great negative impact on the psychology of infants and young children. The present patent has developed new use of a beta blocker for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of hemangiomas, and thus can be used for infant patients suffering from related diseases.

    For the present patent, the invalidation petitioner, YABAO PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP CO., LTD filed a request for invalidation to the State Intellectual Property Office on 06 December 2019, up to 23 evidences are cited therein, and the reasons for invalidation include the description of the patent being not fully disclosed, the claims being not supported by the description, the claims being not clear or concise, lacking novelty and lacking inventiveness with respect to multiple combinations of the evidences above.

    In the process of handling this case, the KANGXIN team responds quickly to the request for invalidation on behalf of the patentee, conducts a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the present patent and the technical solutions disclosed in the evidences cited by the invalidation requester, and at the same time retrieves 29 counter evidences for clear explanation of the terms in the present patent that the invalidation requester considers to be controversial, proves that there is no need for safety verification in the present patent, and proves key differences between the new use of the present patent and related diseases in the cited evidences. In the written response submitted and subsequent oral proceedings, the KANGXIN team makes appropriate modification to the claims on behalf of the patentee. At the same time, the KANGXIN team conducts a professional explanation and analysis of the new use of the present patent in combination with the counter evidences, and insists on that the evidences cited by the invalid petitioner are all based on the known uses of propranolol and its medicinal salts, such as the treatment of hypertension, and does not teach the new use for the treatment of infantile hemangioma claimed in the present patent.

    On 03 September 2020, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China issued the Examination Decision on Request for Invalidation, which maintains the validity of the patent ZL200880111892.5 of the Université de Bordeaux on the basis of the modified claims.

    The success of this invalidation case effectively protects the commercial interests of the Université de Bordeaux and the related patent licensee Wuhan Kefu New Drug Co., Ltd. The Université de Bordeaux is very satisfied with the invalidation result and KANGXIN's work, and highly praises the professionalism and service consciousness of the KANGXIN team. In addition, the invalidation petitioner of this case, YABAO PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP CO., LTD. does not further initiate administrative proceedings against the invalidation decision.

    KANGXIN will make still further progress on this basis, and provide better services to customers.