KU News Release

KU Center for Research files complaint seeking inventorship correction

LAWRENCE — KU Center for Research Inc. filed a complaint Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., seeking to correct inventorship on two patents related to the anti-cancer drug Velcade so that two University of Kansas scientists receive the patent credit they deserve.

“KU Center for Research is asking the court to hold that Professor Val Stella and longtime research assistant Wanda Waugh are acknowledged as co-inventors for two patents related to the formulation of the successful anti-cancer drug Velcade,” said Steve Warren, president of the KU Center for Research.

“The complaint alleges no malice or fraud because we believe the omission was inadvertent. Professor Stella has a long and distinguished record of improving drug stability and solubility in anti-cancer agents. In this situation, it is only fair and right that he and his assistant receive the patent credit they deserve.”

The suit was filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

Velcade, the first of a new class of anti-cancer drugs, has proven effective in treating myeloma, leukemia and other cancers. The patents are licensed to Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., which sells Velcade.

Warren said the suit seeks only to correct inventorship.

The KU Center for Research is a nonprofit research foundation for KU and is charged with bringing intellectual property created by university researchers to the market.

The center is represented by the law firms of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Barber Emerson LC.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.