The Norway Loophole
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Cambridge Antibody Technology has built a business based on an exclusive license to a key biotech patent on antibody expression libraries. But the patent holder, Medical Research Council, neglected to file for a patent in Norway. Enter Affitech, which has taken advantage of the loophole to obtain a patent on a more efficient way of creating and screening phage-derived antibody libraries and in the process creating new competition for CAT. Although Affitech can't sell the antibodies it screens outside of Norway, it claims it can legally sell optimized, already screened antibodies to anyone who wants them. And it believes it has an eager customer base.