Merck Loses Bid to Revive $2.5 Billion Verdict Against Gilead

Merck & Co.’s Idenix lost a bid to revive a record $2.5 billion verdict against Gilead Sciences Inc. after an appeals court said its patent on a hepatitis C treatment is invalid.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, affirmed a trial court decision that tossed the 2016 jury verdict. The court’s opinion was posted on its electronic docket.

The patent, issued in 2009, is for a compound that Merck’s Idenix unit contends is the basis for all major treatments for hepatitis C, including ones made by Gilead. Merck claimed it was first ...