May 1, 1996
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Mycogen Corporation's (Nasdaq: MYCO) Mycogen Plant Science, Inc. subsidiary (MPS) has filed a declaratory judgment action in Federal District Court here, stating among other claims, that its insect-resistant seed corn products don't infringe patents held by DeKalb Genetics Corp.
MPS filed its complaint after being notified that DeKalb had filed suit in Federal District Court in Illinois, alleging that Mycogen's seed corn products with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-based insect resistance infringe DeKalb patents covering Bt and glufosinate herbicide tolerance in corn.
Carl Eibl, Mycogen's president and chief operating officer, said the company believes that its Bt corn does not infringe either patent.
"The DeKalb patents cover corn transformed with Bt and herbicide tolerance genes by a particular process," Eibl said. "Mycogen's Bt corn was developed through a different process."
In March, Mycogen obtained an opinion from outside patent counsel confirming that its Bt corn products don't infringe DeKalb's Bt corn patent. Mycogen also has sought an outside opinion on DeKalb's herbicide tolerance patent, but its lawyers haven't completed their analysis because they haven't been able to obtain the patent file history from the Patent Office.
In August 1995, Mycogen received Environmental Protection Agency approval to market seed corn with Bt-based resistance to European corn borer, and has introduced them commercially for 1996 planting. In January 1995, Mycogen received a U.S. patent covering synthesis of Bt genes to optimize expression of insecticidal genes in plants. In December 1995, the company received a European patent covering its synthesis method, as well as modified Bt genes and transformed plant cells developed by using that method.
"We think it makes more sense to settle these disputes through direct negotiation rather than litigation," Eibl said. "In either case we believe that our products have a clear path to market."
Mycogen is a diversified agricultural biotechnology company that develops and markets technology-based products and provides crop protection services to control agricultural pests and improve food and fiber production.
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