|
 The damages award is far less than the $2 billion Merck had
demanded. On Tuesday, the same jury in San Jose, California, upheld
the validity of the patents, which lie at the heart of the dispute
over Gilead's blockbuster drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni. Together the
medicines had more than $20 billion in U.S. sales in 2014 and 2015.
Merck is trying to catch up to Gilead, which dominates the market on
a new generation of hepatitis C drugs that can cure well over 90
percent of patients with the liver disease.
Merck, which in January won approval on its own hepatitis C drug,
Zepatier, is also asking for a 10 percent royalty on Gilead's sales
going forward. That issue will be argued in a separate non-jury
trial before U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman starting next
week.
Gilead spokeswoman Michele Rest said the company does not believe
Merck is entitled to any damages. "In the event the judge maintains
the jury's verdict, we will appeal," she said.
In a statement, Merck said, "We are pleased that the jury recognized
that patent protections are essential to the development of new
medical treatments."
In after-hours trading, Merck shares were down 50 cents to $52.57.
Gilead shares gained slightly.
Insurers, politicians and patient groups have denounced the list
prices of the new drugs. Harvoni, at $1,125 per pill before
discounts, costs $94,000 for a 12-week regimen.
Gilead obtained the active ingredient in its drugs, sofosbuvir, by
acquiring Pharmasset, Inc in 2011. Merck said Pharmasset developed
the chemical from a Merck patent that was filed in 2002. Gilead,
meanwhile, said Merck's patents were derived from Pharmasset's work.
[to top of second column] |
After Merck, based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, demanded royalties in
2013, Gilead and Merck sued each other in the U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of California. Last month, Freeman ruled
that Gilead's drugs infringe Merck's patents.
In calculating damages, jurors said they sought a middle ground. "We
worked to get to something we could all agree so we weren’t hurting
one side or the other," juror Cody Shump, a 20-year-old San Jose
resident, told Reuters.
Merck's partner and co-owner of the patents, Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Inc <IONS.O>, will get 20 percent of the damages awarded Merck.
The case is Gilead Sciences, Inc v Merck & Co, Inc, in the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of California, No.
13-cv-4057.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York and Rory Carroll in San Jose;
Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Diane Craft and Leslie Adler)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
