Company: ABUS
Filing Date: 2025-05-14
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001447028-25-000099
Chunk: 51

Company: Arbutus Biopharma Corp
Filing Date: 2025-05-14
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 1
Chunk 51
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. We filed a response to Moderna and Merck’s oppositions on September 3, 2018. A hearing was conducted before the Opposition Division of the EPO on October 10, 2019. At the conclusion of the hearing, the EPO upheld an auxiliary request adopting the amendment, as put forth by us, of certain claims of the ’254 Patent. In February 2020 Moderna and Merck filed Notices of Appeal challenging the EPO’s grant of the auxiliary request. Merck filed its notice of appeal on February 24, 2020 and Moderna on February 27, 2020. Both Merck and Moderna perfected their appeals by filing Grounds of Appeal on April 30, 2020. We filed our responses to the appeals on September 18, 2020. On March 22, 2022, Moderna filed further written submissions to which we and Genevant responded in August 2022. On April 18, 2023, we and Genevant withdrew our auxiliary request, however, the original (main) request remains in the action. We and Moderna informed the Board of Appeals that we would not object to a remittance of the matter without a hearing to the Opposition Division of the EPO. The hearing in this matter before the Board of Appeals was subsequently cancelled and resubmitted to the Opposition Division (i.e., lower board) of the EPO. On October 31, 2023, the Opposition Division issued a summons for oral proceedings and provided its preliminary and non-binding opinion on the subject matter to be discussed at the hearing. On November 3, 2023, we responded to the summons and on January 15, 2024, Moderna and Merck filed their reply to the written opinion of the Opposition Division, as well as to our written submission of November 3, 2023. We responded to Moderna and 

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Merck’s reply on April 5, 2024. Oral proceedings were held on June 6, 2024, and the Opposition Division upheld the ’254 Patent but declined our and Genevant’s request to broaden certain claims in the ’254 Patent. Both parties appealed the Opposition Division’s decision and on March 21, 2025, the Board of Appeals scheduled oral proceedings for January 15 and 16, 2026.

On April 29, 2025, Moderna filed a revocation action on EPO patent EP 4 241