SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc. Announces Filing of Counterclaim
Against Pfizer Inc. for Patent Infringement
PR Newswire - May 28, 1999 08:45
LA JOLLA, Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIBI) today
announced that on May 27, 1999 it filed a counterclaim in United States District Court for the District of
Delaware for patent infringement against Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer) concerning Pfizer's use of SIBIA's
patented transcription-based assays. SIBIA's counterclaim alleges infringement of U.S. patent 5,401,629
by Pfizer and seeks injunctive relief and damages for Pfizer's infringement of this patent. On May 7,
1999 SIBIA was served with a complaint for declaratory relief initiated by Pfizer concerning SIBIA's
transcription-based assay patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,401,629 and 5,436,128.
"SIBIA intends to offer only a limited number of licenses to its patented transcription based assay
technology," stated Stephen F. Keane, SIBIA's Vice-President for Corporate Development. "Pfizer's
failure to respond to our invitations to participate as one of those licensees and admissions that it has and
continues to use that screening technology leaves us with no choice but to defend our intellectual property
assets and seek substantial damages from Pfizer for its deliberate infringement."
The '629 patent, one of the patents identified in Pfizer's suit and the subject of SIBIA's counterclaim, was
the subject of litigation between SIBIA and Cadus Pharmaceutical Corporation. On March 10, 1999, the
United States District Court for the Southern District of California entered judgment and a permanent
injunction in favor of SIBIA in that suit. The court entered judgment after a jury awarded the full amount
of the damages, $18 million, requested by SIBIA. The jury also found that the patent was valid and
enforceable.
SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc. is engaged in the discovery and development of novel small molecule
therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, many of
which have large patient populations and represent critical unmet medical needs. SIBIA is a leader in the
development of proprietary drug discovery platforms that combine key tools necessary for modern drug
discovery, including genomics, high throughput screening, advanced combinatorial chemistry techniques
and pharmacology. The Company's proprietary molecular targets and drug candidates, together with its
drug discovery technologies and research expertise, have enabled the Company to establish several
corporate collaborations, which currently include Eli Lilly & Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
and Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., and multiple technology licensing arrangements.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results
could differ materially from those discussed herein. These risks and uncertainties include risks and
uncertainties regarding the Company's ongoing litigation with Cadus, including uncertainties regarding
appeals and related proceedings, risks and uncertainties regarding the Company's patents, risks relating to
SIBIA's ability to enter into additional '629 patent licenses or generate substantial licensing revenue from
its '629 patent or other technologies, the risk that license revenue could be significantly reduced as a
result of future developments relating to the Cadus litigation, whether SIBIA will be able to meet its
development goals, the new and uncertain state of SIBIA's technologies, SIBIA's future capital needs
and the uncertainty of receiving additional funding, and other research, development and market risks.
These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully set forth in SIBIA's most recently filed Forms
10-Q and 10-K.
SOURCE SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc.
/CONTACT: Stephen F. Keane, Vice President, Corporate Development of
SIBIA Neurosciences, Inc., 619-452-5892, ext. 223, skeane@sibia.com/
(SIBI)
|
