Shield Therapeutics - Withdrawal of all oppositions by TEVA

Shield Therapeutics plc

("Shield" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Withdrawal of all oppositions by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd

London, UK, 19 October 2020: Shield Therapeutics plc (LSE: STX), a commercial stage, pharmaceutical company with a focus on addressing iron deficiency with its lead product Feraccru®/Accrufer® (ferric maltol), announces an update on its opposition proceedings with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA).

Following the announcements to shareholders on 3 June 2019 and 1 May 2020 Shield has received notice that TEVA has withdrawn both its appeal against the European Patent Office's decision with regard to Shield's patent No.2668175, which covers a "Process for preparing an iron hydroxypyrone" and their opposition with regard to Shield's patent No.3160951 which covers "Crystalline Forms of Ferric Maltol."

With respect to European Patent No.2668175 "Process for preparing an iron hydroxypyrone" the withdrawal of the appeal means that the decision by the Opposition Division of 3 April 2019 has become final and that the patent will be maintained as amended on 14 March 2019.

Further to the withdrawal of the opposition to European Patent No.3160951 "Crystalline Forms of Ferric Maltol" the European Patent Office has today confirmed that it has no cause to continue the proceedings of its own motion and that the hearing is duly cancelled. This means that the patent is maintained as granted and will continue to provide protection through to October 2035.

Commenting on this outcome Lucy Huntington-Bailey, Shield's General Counsel said: "We are delighted that the European Patent Office has decided not to continue proceedings following the withdrawal of the opposition by TEVA and saw no reason to amend the patent as originally granted. This publicly demonstrates the validity of the patent and the strength of defence that Shield provided to robustly defend its patents."

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About Shield Therapeutics plc

Shield is a de-risked, specialty pharmaceutical company focused on commercialising its lead product, Feraccru®/Accrufer®, a novel, stable, non-salt based oral therapy for adults with iron deficiency with or without anaemia. Feraccru®/Accrufer® has been approved for use in the United States, European Union, UK and Switzerland and has exclusive IP rights until the mid-2030s. Feraccru® is commercialised in the UK and Europe by Norgine B.V. and the Company is currently in the process of selecting a commercialisation partner for the US market.  Shield also has an exclusive licence agreement with Beijing Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for the development and commercialisation of Feraccru®/Accrufer® in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. 

For more information, please visit www.shieldtherapeutics.com. Follow Shield on Twitter @ShieldTx