Neurocrine Sues to Clear New Drug of Spruce’s Patent ‘Ransom’

Neurocrine Bioscience Inc. said in a federal lawsuit that Spruce Biosciences Inc. is threatening patent litigation over its new rare disease drug Crenessity due to a “desperate need for cash”.

Neurocrine seeks to void Spruce’s US Patent No. 11,344,557, calling it “impermissibly overbroad” and alleging it’s part of a strategy “to interfere with Neurocrine’s commercialization of Crenessity,” according to a complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. The drug launched Dec. 20 with a wholesale US cost of about $38,333 for a 30-day supply.

• The ’557 patent, which Bloomberg Law estimates will expire ...