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news.A federal jury in California has ruled in favor of Merck and Ionis Pharmaceuticals in a lawsuit against Gilead Sciences on hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug patent case.
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Gilead has been accused of infringing on patents Merck filed over a decade ago. Merck is seeking billions in damages and royalties on sales of Gilead’s two hepatitis drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni.
A jury in the US District Court, Northern District of California upheld all claims from the two patents in the case, including two methods and eight composition of matter claims.
Ionis and Merck are co-inventors on the patents which serve as the basis for the dispute.
In the next phase of the trial, the jury will consider the amount of damages Gilead should pay to Merck as compensation for its infringement in the past and future.
Ionis will receive 20% of the damages awarded to Merck that exceed the costs the drug giant incurred to carry out the litigation.
California-based Ionis will also receive 20% of all future payments.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals chairman and CEO Stanley Crooke said: "The verdict today confirms the validity and value of the intellectual property covering the nucleoside analogs and methods we and Merck invented to treat HCV."
Gilead said it was disappointed in the jury’s verdict, and there are a number of remaining issues to be decided by the jury and the judge.