The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a
determination by a federal judge in Delaware that the Merck patent
at issue in the case, which relates to hepatitis C treatment, was
invalid.
Merck said in a statement it was disappointed with the decision and
reviewing its options for an appeal, while Gilead said it was
pleased with the ruling and confident it would be upheld if appealed
further.
In 2016, a jury returned a verdict that Gilead's hepatitis C drugs
Sovaldi and Harvoni infringed the patent, which Merck acquired when
it bought Idenix Pharmaceuticals. Jurors determined that Gilead
should pay $2.54 billion in damages, which was the largest verdict
ever in a U.S. patent case.
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But a federal judge in Delaware tossed the verdict in 2018, saying
the Merck patent should not have been granted in the first place
because it did not meet a requirement that it disclose how to make
the treatment it covered without undue experimentation.
In Wednesday's split decision, the appeals court said it agreed with
that determination.
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