Ligand And ALRT Settle Patent Dispute

Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Allergan Ligand Retinoid Therapeutics have reached a mutual settlement agreement with the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation.

The settlement includes a judgement which confirms the validity of four patents covering aspects of retinoid technology. The patents, which are owned by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, are licensed exclusively to Ligand and exclusively sublicensed to ALRT for retinoid applications. The judgement also acknowledges an infringement of the patent rights in relation to Select Pharmaceuticals, (an affiliate of LJCRF and SRI International) proposed commercialization of retinoid technology.

As part of the settlement, LJCRF and SRI have been granted a royalty-free, limited license to use the technology covered by the patents in pursuit of basic research purposes. In return, the two companies have granted options to Ligand to acquire royalty-bearing license rights to inventions and patent rights which result from the use by LJCRF and SRI of the licensed patent rights.