Matthews, NC 5/9/13; Matthews, NC 5/13/13; Uppsala, Sweden 5/13/13—CEM announced that its European Patent No. 1,491,552 covering microwave-assisted solid phase peptide synthesis was upheld in an oral proceeding at the European Patent Office (EPO), following a word change for clarification. CEM stated that the opposition proceeding was initiated by Biotage in an attempt to revoke the patent. Biotage questioned the use of the term “patent dispute” to describe the situation. Biotage stated that in April 2013, the Japanese Patent Office found CEM’s corresponding Japan Patent No. 4773696 invalid, and that the EPO found that the scope of the European patent should be restricted. Biotage stated both decisions are open to appeal. According to CEM, a final decision from the Japanese Patent Office is expected in the next three to six months.