Plexxikon’s patents are for compounds it began developing in 2005 that help reduce cancer cell growth. Plexxikon relied on its inventions to co-develop the skin cancer drug Zelboraf with Roche. Novartis failed to persuade the jury that the patents are invalid.
The verdict on Thursday is a blow to Novartis, whose Tafinlar and a companion melanoma drug Mekinist generated $1.5 billion in revenue last year, and $393 million in the first quarter.
Novartis “is considering further its options,” including an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a company spokesperson said.
Novartis’s attorney
“The jury was careful and awarded us what we’d asked for down to the penny,” Plexxikon’s lawyer
The jury delivered the verdict after less than a day of deliberations, ending the in-person trial in Oakland that started July 12 and included testimony from scientists and company executives.
“Genus patents -- like those in the lawsuit -- are routinely used to prevent competitors from knocking off our scientific innovations with slight molecular changes,” Plexxikon’s Chief Executive Officer Chao Zhang said in a
The
(Adds Plexxikon comment in eight paragraph)
--With assistance from
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Joe Schneider
© 2021 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
To read more articles log in. Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription.