U.S. biotechnology company Gilead has filed a new revocation lawsuit with the Unified Patent Court (UPC) targeting a patent owned by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of the People's Liberation Army (hereinafter referred to as the Academy). The patent may potentially interfere with the sale of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir. Gilead is currently on the offensive in Europe.

According to reports, the Academy of Military Medical Sciences is a high-level research institution of the People's Liberation Army, established in August 1951 and located in Haidian District, Beijing. The Academy comprises 11 research institutes, including the Institute of Health Services and Medical Intelligence and the Institute of Radiation and Radiation Medicine, as well as affiliated hospitals, a medical library, an experimental instrument factory, and an experimental animal center. Its primary research areas include military medicine, related basic medical sciences, biotechnology, and new drug development.

The European Patent Office recently granted the Academy of Military Medical Sciences [EP 3 854 403] patent, protecting the use of substituted aminopropionate compounds in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

This poses a potential threat to the sales of Remdesivir, prompting Gilead Sciences to file an objection directly with the European Patent Office. Gilead developed the drug under the brand name Veklury as a broad-spectrum antiviral agent. It was originally intended for the treatment of Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus infection, but since the coronavirus pandemic, it has primarily been used as a post-infection treatment for COVID-19.

Subsequently, Gilead filed a lawsuit with the Milan Central Division of the European Unified Patent Court, seeking to revoke the patent within the jurisdiction of the European Unified Patent Court (Case ID: ACT_29152/2025).