Merck Faces Lawsuit Over Melanoma Immunotherapy Patent.
The Wall Street Journal (9/8, Loftus, Subscription Publication) reports Merck & Co. faces a lawsuit filed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and partner Ono Pharmaceutical that claims Merck infringes their immunotherapy patent. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Federal court in Delaware, came on the same day that Merck was granted FDA approval to offer Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to treat deadly skin cancer melanoma.
Providing details of the case, Bloomberg News (9/5, Milford, Chen) reported, “‘Merck is threatening to exploit that invention,’ known as immunotherapy, with a later-developed method of treatment, in violation of a May 20 patent, Bristol-Myers said” in the lawsuit. The article notes Bristol-Myers wants unspecified damages. Highlighting the significance of the immunotherapy to the companies, Bloomberg notes that both the companies “have been in a race with” Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG, which “are also working on similar treatments, and the emerging class of drugs is seen as a new chapter in cancer therapy, with the potential to be applied to multiple forms of the disease.” Merck’s Keytruda is expected to generate $1.8 billion in 2017.
Reuters (9/5) provided the citation for the lawsuit, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Ono Pharmaceutical co ltd v. Merck & Co Inc, U.S. District Court, for the district of Delaware, Wilmington No. 14-CV-01131. |
