The Hep C Field Gets Nastier By the Minute

What a mess there is in the hepatitis C world. Gilead is, famously, dominating the market with Sovaldi, whose price has set off all sorts of cost/benefit debates. The companies competing with them are scrambling to claim positions, and the Wall Street Journal says that AbbVie is really pulling out all the stops. Try this strategy on for size: In a lawsuit filed in February, AbbVie noted it patented the idea of combining two of Gilead's drugs—Sovaldi and an experimental drug called ledipasvir, which Gilead plans to combine into one treatment—and is therefore entitled to monetary damages if Gilead brings the combination pill to market. Legally, AbbVie can't market Sovaldi or ledipasvir because it doesn't have the patents on the underlying compounds. But it is legal for companies to seek and obtain patents describing a particular "method of use" of products that don't belong to them. Gilead disputes the claims of AbbVie and the other companies. A spokeswoman said Gilead believes it has the sole right to commercialize Sovaldi and products containing Sovaldi's active ingredient, known as sofosbuvir. An AbbVie spokeswoman said the company believes Gilead infringes its patents, and that it stands behind the validity and enforceability of those patents. You don't see that very often, and it's a good thing. Gilead is, naturally, suing Abbvie over this as well, saying that Abbvie has knowing mispresented to the USPTO that they invented the Gilead therapies. I'm not sure how that...
Source: In the Pipeline - Category: Chemists Tags: Business and Markets Source Type: blogs