Johns Hopkins Wins Pause of Merck & Co. Suit on Keytruda Patents

Johns Hopkins University convinced a federal judge in Maryland to pause Merck & Co.’s suit over the blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda while an administrative tribunal reviews the validity of a patent at the heart of the case.

Depending on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision regarding the validity of US Patent No. 11,591,393—due by next June 13—"the matters before the court could be fundamentally altered,” Judge Julie R. Rubin wrote in an opinion issued June 29 and docketed Monday in the US District Court for the District of Maryland. She granted Merck’s motion to stay the case pending ...