Assignment history

Inventors

Montserrat FOGUET and Lars MÖLLMANN. The patent lists Biofrontera Bioscience GmbH as the original assignee. It is common for inventors to assign their rights to their employer at or before the time of filing, and there is no indication that the inventors departed the original assignee within 12 months of filing.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is Biofrontera Bioscience GmbH.

• Product embodying the claims: The patent describes a "Nanoemulsion without propylene glycol" for topical use, particularly with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). Biofrontera Inc., the current assignee, markets Ameluz® (aminolevulinate hydrochloride gel) and BF-RhodoLED® (a photodynamic therapy lamp) in the US for the treatment of actinic keratosis. Ameluz is an ALA-based gel, which aligns with the formulations described in the patent.
• Primary line of business: Dermatology, specifically developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products for the treatment of skin diseases.
• Current status: Biofrontera Bioscience GmbH is a subsidiary of Biofrontera AG, an active operating pharmaceutical company. Biofrontera Inc. is its US-based operating subsidiary and is also active.

Assignment timeline

• 2023-12-07 (executed) / recorded 2024-01-26 — Reel 067087/0931

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: FOGUET, MONTSERRAT; MOELLMANN, LARS
  • Assignee: BIOFRONTERA BIOSCIENCE GMBH
  • Correspondent: MINTZ, LEVIN, COHN, FERRIS, GLOVSKY AND POPEO, P.C. ONE FINANCIAL CENTER, BOSTON, MA 02111-2621
  • Context: Initial assignment of inventor rights to their employer.

• 2025-11-05 (executed) / recorded 2025-11-22 — Reel 069212/0547

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: BIOFRONTERA BIOSCIENCE GMBH
  • Assignee: BIOFRONTERA INC.
  • Correspondent: FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. P.O. BOX 1022, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55440-1022
  • Context: Transfer between related operating entities (parent company to US subsidiary).

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 12280146
    2023 : Inventors assign to Biofrontera Bioscience GmbH
    2023 : Application filed
    2025 : Issued
    2025 : Assigned to Biofrontera Inc
    2026 : PTAB case PGR2026-00021 filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. All assignees are identifiable as operating companies within the pharmaceutical industry, and their names do not suggest shell entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. None of the assignees (FOGUET, MONTSERRAT; MOELLMANN, LARS; BIOFRONTERA BIOSCIENCE GMBH; BIOFRONTERA INC.) are listed as known NPEs or high-frequency plaintiffs. While Unified Patents has filed a PTAB challenge (PGR2026-00021), this is a defensive action against the patent, not an assertion by an NPE.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The correspondents for the two assignments are MINTZ, LEVIN, COHN, FERRIS, GLOVSKY AND POPEO, P.C. (Reel 067087/0931) and FISH & RICHARDSON P.C. (Reel 069212/0547), which are different firms.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are only two assignments over a span of two years, with no indications of rapid transfers between chained LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The patent was assigned to Biofrontera Inc. on 2025-11-05 (executed). A PTAB case (PGR2026-00021) was filed in 2026. The exact date of the PTAB filing is not specified, nor is the date of any infringement litigation for this specific US patent. PTAB filings are challenges, not assertions. Therefore, it is unclear if an assignment occurred within 6 months of an infringement suit.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. Biofrontera Bioscience GmbH and Biofrontera Inc. are active operating companies, and there is no indication of bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no evidence in the assignment records or provided information to suggest a privateering arrangement.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee, Biofrontera Inc., is an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion. The assignment chain clearly shows transfers between Biofrontera Bioscience GmbH and its US subsidiary Biofrontera Inc. (Reel 069212/0547, executed 2025-11-05), both of which are active pharmaceutical companies that develop and sell products embodying the patent's claims. There are no discernable NPE-related patterns or shell entities in the assignment history. Verification: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/