- 416 -
(the research or licensing agreement) with Newport Pharmaceutical
International, Inc. (Newport). Newport was then engaged in the
manufacture, marketing, research, and development of
pharmaceutical compounds. One of the compounds owned by Newport
was identified as the NPT-15000 series, in which Newport owned an
undivided one-half interest that it had acquired from the
discoverer of the compound, the Sloan-Kettering Memorial
Institute for Cancer Research (Sloan-Kettering), in 1978. At
that time, this particular compound was still in the experimental
stage of development. In the 1978 transaction, the transfer of
the one-half interest in the subject compound to Newport included
the transfer of one-half of the "Patent Rights [of the compound],
and the inventions and improvements covered thereby, throughout
the world." The term "Patent Rights" was comprehensively defined
elsewhere in the 1978 sale agreement. In the 1978 sale
agreement, Newport was given the exclusive right to exploit the
patent rights to the subject compound on a worldwide basis, as to
which Newport agreed to use its best efforts to exploit the
patent rights for the mutual benefit of itself and Sloan-
Kettering. The agreement further allowed Newport to license
third parties in connection with the exploitation of the subject
compound; however, such licensing agreements, among other things,
had to be agreed to by Sloan-Kettering.
Page: Previous 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011