AstraZeneca gets $107 mln Pfizer verdict overturned in US cancer drug patent fight
By Blake Brittain
Aug 14 (Reuters) -AstraZeneca AZN.L on Wednesday convinced a federal judge in Delaware to throw out a jury's decision that the company owes $107.5 million for infringing cancer-drug patents belonging to Pfizer PFE.N subsidiary Wyeth.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly determined that the two patents Pfizer accused AstraZeneca of infringing with its blockbuster lung-cancer drug Tagrisso were invalid.
Spokespeople for Pfizer and AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.
New York-based Pfizer, which acquired Wyeth in 2009, sued AstraZeneca in 2021. It said that AstraZeneca's Tagrisso infringed patents related to the breast-cancer drug Nerlynx, which Puma Biotechnology PBYI.O makes with a license to Pfizer's patents.
Tagrisso earned UK-based AstraZeneca nearly $5.8 billion in revenue last year, according to a company report.
A jury agreed with Pfizer in May and awarded the company $107.5 million in damages. Kennelly ruled for AstraZeneca on Wednesday, finding that the verdict could not stand because the patents lacked valid written descriptions of their inventions and would not enable an ordinary scientist in the field to recreate them.
The case is Wyeth LLC v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:21-cv-01338.
For Pfizer: Anthony Insogna, Gasper LaRosa, Jason Winchester, Bethany Biesenthal, John Michalik, Alexis Smith and Jennifer Swize of Jones Day; Sara Horton and Ren-How Harn of Willkie Farr & Gallagher
For AstraZeneca: Christopher Sipes, Einar Stole and Megan Keane of Covington & Burling
Read more:
Pfizer wins $107.5 million from AstraZeneca in US cancer drug patent trial
Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.