Here's the press release on the suit settlement:
LIGAND AND ALRT SETTLE PATENT INFRINGEMENT SUIT AGAINST LA
JOLLA CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION, SelectRA AND SRI
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND), Allergan Ligand Retinoid
Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALRIZ) and the La Jolla Cancer
Research Foundation (LJCRF) today announced that they have
reached a mutual settlement agreement in the patent infringement
litigation commenced by Ligand and the AllerganLigand joint
venture against LJCRF and SelectRA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an
affiliate of LJCRF, and SRI International. The settlement
includes a consent judgment which confirms the validity of four
patents (U.S. 4,981,784; U.S. 5,071,773; U.S. 5,091,518; and
U.S. 5,171,671) covering aspects of retinoid technology utilized
in the discovery and characterization of retinoid compounds
which are potentially valuable pharmaceutical products. The
patents, which are owned by The Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, are licensed exclusively to Ligand and exclusively
sublicensed to Allergan Ligand Retinoid Therapeutics, Inc.
(ALRT) for retinoid applications. Pursuant to the settlement,
the consent judgment also acknowledges an infringement of the
patent rights principally by reason of activities surrounding
SelectRA's proposed commercialization of retinoid technology.
As part of the settlement, SelectRA is being dissolved. The
settlement also includes a cross-licensing arrangement, with no
party paying any damages. LJCRF and SRI have been granted a
royaltyfree, limited license to use the technology covered by
the patents-in- suit for basic research purposes. LJCRF and
SRI have in turn granted options to Ligand to acquire exclusive,
worldwide, royalty-bearing license rights to inventions and
patent rights which result from the use by the LJCRF and SRI of
the licensed patent rights. ALRT acquires rights to such
inventions and patent rights having retinoid applications as a
result of Ligand's blanket sublicense to ALRT of its rights to
retinoid technology. Under the settlement, Ligand and ALRT will
have the opportunity to evaluate certain retinoid compounds
prepared at SRI and, at ALRT's option, develop for commercial
purposes those of interest to it. "ALRT has a broad and
strong patent position in the field of retinoid technology, and
we will continue to aggressively protect these 3 important
intellectual property assets while proceeding equally
aggressively to commercialize this technology," according to Dr.
Marvin Rosenthale, ALRT President. "Ligand is pleased
with this settlement which achieves our original goals for
initiating this litigation. We are also pleased that the
settlement provides that certain retinoid technology invented by
the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation International can be
commercially exploited by ALRT," according to David E.
Robinson, Ligand President and Chief Executive Officer.
"The Foundation is pleased to enter into this settlement with
Ligand so as to secure the Foundation's right to use the
patented technology for conducting the Foundation's basic
scientific research programs," according to Erkki Ruoslahti,
M.D., President of LJCRF. "The Foundation's discoveries can now
be commercialized through Ligand or ALRT, and the Foundation is
optimistic that they will be successful in developing and
marketing products arising from this technology, which may
result in royalty payments to support the Foundation's further
basic scientific research efforts." Allergan Ligand Retinoid
Therapeutics, Inc. is a newly formed company whose primary
purpose is to discover and develop drugs based on 4 retinoids.
Retinoids have a broad range of biological actions, and evidence
suggests that retinoids may be useful in the treatment of sk
diseases, a variety of cancers, including kidney cancer, certain
forms of leukemia and other cancers, as well as eye diseases.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, founded in 1987, is a
leader in gene transcription technology, particularly
intracellular receptor (IR) technology and Signal Transducers
and Activators of Transcription (STATs). Ligand applies IR and
STATs technology to the discovery and development of small
molecule drugs to enhance therapeutic and safety profiles and to
address major unmet patient needs in cancer, women's health
and skin diseases, as well as osteoporosis, cardiovascular and
inflammatory disease. The La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation,
located in La Jolla, California, was established in 1976 as a
non-profit biomedical research institute to investigate the
biological roots of cancer with the goal of finding complete and
noninvasive cures for the disease.
CONTACT: Susan E. Atkins, Ligand and ALRT contact, 619-550-7687;
or Louis Coffman of La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation,
619-455-6480, ext. 202
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