Merck Sues SB To Protect VZV Vaccine
Claiming exclusive rights to distribution of a chickenpox(varicella-zoster virus) vaccine in the USA and Canada, Merck & Co is suing SmithKline Beecham's US affiliates SB Holdings and SB Corp, as well as the Belgian affiliate SB Biologicals SA, to try and block them from conducting clinical trials in the USA of their vaccine candidate, or from selling it in North America.
Merck is seeking an injunction barring trials and future sales, along with a ruling that SB "misappropriated" Merck's exclusive rights to the vaccine.
The papers filed with the court show that Merck has claimed that in 1980 it received exclusive rights through 2005 for technology developed by the Research Foundation for Microbial Disease of Osaka University in Japan. That licensed technology is the basis for Merck's Varivax vaccine. In 1982, the Foundation granted a license to SB to the technology so that it could sell a similar vaccine outside Japan, the USA and South Korea.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze