Corixa pressing patent case against Idec
LOS ANGELES, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Biotechnology drug developer Corixa Corp. (NasdaqNM:CRXA - news) plans to aggressively pursue a patent infringement lawsuit against Idec Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NasdaqNM:IDPH - news) but will not seek to prevent the launch of Idec's lymphoma drug Zevalin, Corixa executives said on Tuesday.
``We are seeking a permanent injunction, but it would only come at the end of the case. We believe Bexxar would be approved by then,'' Corixa Chief Executive Steven Gillis, said during a conference call.
Both Zevalin and Bexxar are ``radioimmunotherapies,'' that employ antibodies tagged with radioactive isotopes to home in on cancer cells and directly deliver tumor-killing radiation.
Gillis estimated that, if the lawsuit goes to trial, it would take two or three years to resolve.
Seattle-based Corixa and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK - news), which are developing Bexxar as a treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Delaware a lawsuit alleging Idec's drug Zevalin infringes patents held by Corixa and Glaxo.
Idec filed a day earlier in a Southern California federal district court for a declaratory judgment that it is not infringing patents licensed by Corixa.
``The Idec action was anticipated. We believe their claims are without merit,'' Gillis said.
Corixa's lawsuit was prompted by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel's endorsement on September 11 of Idec's application to market Zevalin as a treatment for low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that has become resistant to Rituxan, a drug Idec co-markets with Genentech Inc. (NYSE:DNA - news).
A final FDA decision on Zevalin is expected by early January.
Corixa gave the FDA final data on Bexxar on September 7 and has yet to be scheduled for an advisory panel hearing.
``We view both of these products as being on the market in roughly the same time frame. We also believe the positive aspects of Bexxar will drive its acceptance,'' Corixa's Gillis said.
Both drugs were granted ``orphan'' status by the FDA, which means they will have a period of market exclusivity if approved.
Gillis said the FDA has issued ``guidance'' stating that antibodies conjugated with different radioactive isotopes -- as in the case of Bexxar and Zevalin -- would be considered different drugs so approval of one would not supersede marketing of the other, but he said a final decision on the matter would have to come from the FDA's Office of Orphan Drugs.
Corixa and Glaxo said they they have offered to discuss with Idec a license fee agreement for the use of the patents, but so far there has been no communication.
``We would want to make sure that value of our intellectual property is met,'' Gillis said. |
