MSD-Gilead patent squabble ends in $2.54 billion verdict
pharmafile | December 16, 2016 | News story | Medical Communications |
A patent lawsuit between Gilead Sciences and MSD, known as Merck in the US, has resulted in MSD being awarded $2.54 billion in royalties by a federal jury. The trial lasted close to two weeks and revolved around MSD’s patents were infringed by Gilead’s hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni, concluding that they did.
Sovaldi and Harvoni are both blockbuster drugs and the figure of $2.54 billion was reached as 10% royalty rate from the sale of both drugs. Gilead has said that it plans to appeal the decision and that sales of the drugs will not be affected and will continue as normal. The two drugs have achieved considerable success both commercially and medically, as they boast a cure rate for Hepatitis C above 90% in patients.
The two drugs are also prohibitively expensive. Harvoni’s costs $94,500 for a 12-week program of the drug while Sovaldi’s price sits at $84,000. The two drugs, as a result, are extremely lucrative for Gilead – bringing in close to $20 billion in sales alone in 2015.
The court case has been years in the making, with Gilead and Idenix initially fighting over whether compounds within the two drugs infringed upon Idenix’s patents. Idenix was then purchased by MSD in 2014, at which point MSD absorbed the court case into its own independent case against Gilead for patent infringement.
In a previous case between MSD and Gilead, a judge found in favour of MSD and ordered Gilead to pay MSD $200 million. The decision was then reversed after it emerged that a key witness had lied in their testimony, on the part of MSD.
Whether this most recent case will overturned as well remains to be seen. Gilead plans to appeal the decision.
Ben Hargreaves
