BTG Asks for Ban on Imports of Patent-Infringing Snake Antivenom

BTG International is asking the International Trade Commission to ban imports of snake antivenom that allegedly infringe its patents, in violation of Section 337. BTG says three U.S. companies and four Mexican companies are importing and selling an antivenom used to treat snake bites from pit viper snakes such as rattlesnakes. The antivenom imports infringe a patent held by BTG on a method to prevent serum sickness, a potentially life-threatening immune reaction. BTG says the antivenom imports, which are marketed as “Antivipmyn,” “Anavip,” and generic names like “Antivenin-Bothrops asper and Crotalus durissus,” threaten the domestic industry BTG has developed through its FDA-approved drug CroFab Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine). BTG is requesting cease and desist orders and limited exclusion orders banning import and sale of the infringing antivenom.