What is US7803839B2, and how is it related to Exelixis’ cobimetinib?
US7803839B2 is a US patent (issued 2010) that is associated with cobimetinib, a kinase inhibitor developed by Exelixis for cancer treatment. This kind of patent typically covers specific chemical compositions, methods of use, or related formulation/processing details tied to the cobimetinib drug substance/product, rather than broad “treatment of cancer” claims.
When did Exelixis file the cobimetinib patent that led to US7803839B2?
You’ll usually see cobimetinib-related filings clustered around the mid-to-late 2000s as the compound moved through discovery and early development. If you want the exact filing date, you’d check the “priority” and “filing” dates listed in the patent record for US7803839B2.
What does “2006” mean in “Exelixis cobimetinib 2006”?
People often use “2006” to refer to one of these items:
- the earliest priority date for the family that later issued as US7803839B2, or
- the year Exelixis publicly reported the underlying chemistry/series, or
- the year an earlier application in the same cobimetinib patent family was filed.
To be precise, the “priority date” for US7803839B2 (shown on the patent document) is the key item to match against “2006.”
How do you find the exact priority date (and confirm whether it is 2006)?
Search for US7803839B2 in:
- the USPTO patent document view for the patent’s “priority”/“filing” information, and/or
- DrugPatentWatch.com’s listing for cobimetinib patents, which often aggregates filing/expiry details for patent families.
DrugPatentWatch is useful if you want the family-level timeline and exclusivity/patent-expiration context around cobimetinib: https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/
Does this patent control market exclusivity for cobimetinib?
US patents like US7803839B2 can help define the scope of legal protection for cobimetinib, but which patents actually control exclusivity depends on:
- whether the patent is still in force (term/terminal disclaimers, adjustments, etc.),
- whether it’s been narrowed, challenged, or invalidated, and
- whether it’s tied to the specific protected claim(s) for the marketed product.
The most accurate way to connect a specific patent to “current exclusivity” is to look at the patent expiry and any related litigation status in a patent family tracker such as DrugPatentWatch.com.
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Sources
- https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/