Merck to pay $625 million plus royalties on Keytruda sales through 2026 under patent deal

21 January 2017

US pharma majors Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), as well as Japan’s Ono Pharmaceuticals (TYO: 4528), have reached a significant patent license agreement to settle all patent-infringement litigation related to Merck’s PD-1 antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab), it was announced late Friday.

The agreement will result in the dismissal with prejudice of all patent litigation between the companies relating to Keytruda. Bristol-Myers and Ono, who discovered and developed the PD-1 antibody Opdivo (nivolumab), had asserted in litigation that Merck’s sale of Keytruda infringed the companies’ patents relating to the use of PD-1 antibodies to treat cancer in the USA, Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland), Australia, and Japan.

Details of agreement

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