Merck and Ionis Pharma awarded $200m in patent infringement battle

Gilead Sciences is to pay $200m for infringing upon Merck and Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Hepatitis C drug patents

Merck, known as MSD outside the US, announced that a jury in a US District Court ordered Gilead Sciences to pay $200m in damages for infringing upon Merck and Ionis Pharmaceuticals patents for compounds and methods used to develop sofosbuvir-based medicines for the treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including Sovaldi and Harvoni.

The jury’s verdict upholds patent protections that are essential to the development of new medical treatments. Given that it guarantees a firm a period of return on investment, patent protection provides the research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with an incentive to invest in research and development, according to Merck.

The compounds and methods at issue in this case facilitated significant advances in the treatment of patients with HCV infection and were appropriately granted the patents Nos. 7,105,499 and 8,481,712.

The jury awarded the damages as compensation for infringement through Dec. 31, 2015. The Court will hold a separate proceeding on royalties owed by Gilead for all infringing product sold starting Jan. 1, 2016.