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Patent: 10,149,901
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Summary for Patent: 10,149,901
| Title: | Influenza vaccines with reduced amounts of squalene |
| Abstract: | Influenza vaccines include hemagglutinin from at least one influenza A virus strain and at least one influenza B virus strain. They also include an oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant with submicron oil droplets, comprising squalene. In some embodiments the hemagglutinin concentration is >12 .mu.g/ml per strain. In some embodiments the squalene concentration is <19 mg/ml. In some embodiments the vaccine is mercury-free. In some embodiments the vaccine has a unit dose volume between 0.2-0.3 mL. In some embodiments the squalene concentration is 9.75 mg/mL or 4.88 mg/mL. In some embodiments the vaccine includes antigens from two influenza A virus strains and two influenza B virus strains. |
| Inventor(s): | Contorni; Mario (Siena, IT), O\'Hagan; Derek (Cambridge, MA), Groth; Nicola (Buonconvento, IT) |
| Assignee: | Seqirus UK Limited (Berkshire, GB) |
| Application Number: | 15/007,719 |
| Patent Claims: | see list of patent claims |
| Patent landscape, scope, and claims summary: | US Patent 10,149,901 landscape: influenza vaccine unit dose 0.2–0.3 mL with squalene submicron oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant (≤19 mg/mL)US 10,149,901 claims an influenza virus vaccine composition in a specified unit-dose volume (0.2–0.3 mL; often ~0.25 mL) that combines influenza A HA strains (H1 and/or H3) plus influenza B HA strains (Victoria and/or Yamagata lineage) with an oil-in-water emulsion adjuvant using submicron squalene droplets at ≤19 mg/mL (with multiple dependent claim ranges and discrete concentrations). The claim set is built for process-adjacent product protection (composition + dosage metrics + adjuvant lipid concentration) and for clinical performance via an immunogenicity/effectiveness-defined dependent claim. The patent estate’s commercial leverage depends on (1) whether the market product uses squalene concentration and unit-dose volume within the claim boundaries, (2) whether it uses submicron oil-in-water emulsion droplets with polysorbate 80 and/or α-tocopherol, and (3) whether the product’s formulation is positioned for thiomersal-free / preservative-free and not egg-passaged antigen sources. Where competitors deviate on even one axis (unit dose outside 0.2–0.3 mL, squalene above 19 mg/mL, emulsion not “submicron,” or missing HA strain set), literal coverage can fall away, but doctrine-of-equivalents risk remains fact-dependent. What are the key claim limitations in US 10,149,901 and how do they narrow coverage?Immediate independent claim 1: the three “hard gates”Claim 1 requires all of the following:
This structure creates a high-friction infringement map: any candidate product must match the dose volume window and the squalene concentration ceiling, and must be an oil-in-water emulsion with submicron droplets (not merely an oil-in-water emulsion generally, and not a different adjuvant platform). Dependent claims: what each one adds
Practical effect: the “numerical matching” burdenCoverage is most likely to track the market product’s formulation choices:
Which influenza strain combinations are explicitly claimed in US 10,149,901?A-strain HA coverage
Commercial implication: a product with only one A subtype or different A subtype selections may avoid dependent claim scope, but could still fall under claim 1 (which only requires at least one A HA). B-strain HA coverage
Commercial implication: the patent’s strongest multi-antigen embodiments align to products designed around both B lineages (tetravalent formulations) and classical HA heritage strains. How does the squalene submicron emulsion adjuvant limit infringement risk?Squalene concentration tiers that matterClaim 1: ≤19 mg/mL.
Infringement mapping: a competitor reformulating squalene toward a different mg/mL level can create a bright-line escape if outside ≤19 mg/mL and also outside the specific dependent ranges. Submicron requirement: droplet-size languageThe adjuvant is “oil-in-water emulsion with submicron oil droplets.” Design-around lever: a different droplet size distribution or a non-submicron emulsion can reduce literal correspondence to the “submicron” constraint. Polysorbate 80 and α-tocopherol as optional add-insClaim 19 includes polysorbate 80 and/or α-tocopherol. Since “and/or” is used, inclusion of either can still meet claim 19, but claim 19 is dependent. A party could avoid claim 19 and still potentially meet earlier claims if those earlier limitations are present. How are hemagglutinin dose and concentration constraints used to capture specific commercial schedules?Per-strain and total HA concentrationKey dependent claims:
Why ratio mattersEven if a product matches squalene mg/mL and unit dose volume, squalene:HA weight ratio can still become a second check on infringement for claim 16-type coverage. If a competitor scales HA upward or downward without proportionally adjusting squalene, the ratio can move out of 20–180. What does the egg-passaging, thiomersal-free, and preservative-free language do?Egg passage limitationClaim 17 requires the influenza virus strains have not been passaged through eggs (or potentially “and/or” depending on how claim 17 is construed, but it includes this as part of the claim’s listed alternatives). Thiomersal / mercurial limitationClaim 17 includes “substantially free from mercurial material” and/or “free of preservatives.” Commercial implication: if a generic or rival product uses antigens produced by egg-based processes with measurable carryover, claim 17/18 scope narrows. However, the independent claim 1 does not include this manufacturing constraint, so infringement may still be possible under claim 1 if the product otherwise satisfies the composition and adjuvant limits. Does the dependent efficacy/immunogenicity claim (claim 24) create clinical evidence leverage?Claim 24 is a dependent claim that ties vaccine performance to thresholds in a cohort of at least 50 patients, requiring at least two metrics among:
Legal/strategy implication: claim 24 can operate as an evidentiary hook in disputes if the accused product’s labeling, clinical study reports, or post-approval data demonstrate the thresholds. It is not a composition limitation like squalene mg/mL, so it functions more as a performance confirmation than a narrow product-design constraint. What formulations are explicitly set out as embodiments in US 10,149,901?Trivalent examples (claim 20)Two “numerical sets”:
Tetravalent examples (claim 21)Two “numerical sets” with both B lineages:
These explicit embodiments indicate the patent is drafted around specific marketed concentrations rather than only broad ranges. How does US 10,149,901 compare to typical flu vaccine IP estates (composition vs process vs clinical performance)?This patent’s position in the usual flu vaccine IP stackInfluenza vaccine patents commonly cluster into:
US 10,149,901 is weighted toward:
This combination increases the chance that competitors’ “near-miss” formulations still need to change multiple dimensions to escape. When does US 10,149,901 lose exclusivity, and how does that drive launch risk?A complete exclusivity timeline requires:
Those elements are not present in the provided input, so a precise “expiration date” and exclusivity timeline cannot be computed from the claim text alone. What patent litigation or FDA Orange Book risks attach to US 10,149,901?A complete litigation and regulatory status analysis requires the patent’s links to:
The provided input includes only claim text, not the patent’s bibliographic data (drug name, assignee, application number, related FDA approvals) or any litigation docket references. Without those, the infringement “risk map” cannot be tied to any specific marketed product or competitor. Key Takeaways
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Details for Patent 10,149,901
| Applicant | Tradename | Biologic Ingredient | Dosage Form | BLA | Approval Date | Patent No. | Expiredate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seqirus Vaccines Limited | FLUVIRIN | influenza virus vaccine | Injection | 103837 | November 03, 1998 | ⤷ Start Trial | 2036-01-27 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | FLUZONE, FLUZONE HD QUADRIVALENT, FLUZONE HIGH DOSE, FLUZONE INTRADERMAL, FLUZONE QUADRIVALENT | influenza virus vaccine | Injection | 103914 | December 09, 1999 | ⤷ Start Trial | 2036-01-27 |
| Sanofi Pasteur Inc. | FLUZONE, FLUZONE HD QUADRIVALENT, FLUZONE HIGH DOSE, FLUZONE INTRADERMAL, FLUZONE QUADRIVALENT | influenza virus vaccine | Injection | 103914 | December 23, 2009 | ⤷ Start Trial | 2036-01-27 |
| >Applicant | >Tradename | >Biologic Ingredient | >Dosage Form | >BLA | >Approval Date | >Patent No. | >Expiredate |
