Compound Errors: Written Description, Not Typographical Error Analysis, Controls Priority Claim

Short summary

Federal Circuit affirmed Enanta Pharmaceuticals' COVID-inhibitor patent invalid, ruling its provisional application lacked adequate written description of a claimed compound structure (C1-alkyl vs C2-alkyl). The court rejected Enanta's argument that the discrepancy was a typographical error, instead focusing on whether the provisional demonstrated inventors' actual possession of the claimed invention. Pfizer's prior public disclosure of the compound thus became valid anticipatory prior art, invalidating the patent.

• •Enanta's patent invalidated due to insufficient written description in provisional application
• •Court rejected typographical-error argument; focused on demonstrating actual possession of claimed invention
• •Pfizer's intervening public disclosure of the compound became valid anticipatory prior art

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