US court voids $2.5 billion verdict in Gilead/Merck patent dispute
In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, a US District court in Delaware has rescinded a prior decision compelling Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) to pay $2.5 billion in damages to Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK).
That verdict was reached in late 2016 when a court ruled the development of blockbuster hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and Harvoni (ledipasvir/sofosbuvir) infringed patents held by its New Jersey, USA-based rival.
The 2009 patent in question was filed by Merck’s Idenix unit and covers a compound used in major treatments for hepatitis C.
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