US court takes Pfizer and Merck off the hook for billions in damages
A federal jury in New Jersey, USA, has ruled against Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) and in favor of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and collaboration partner Germany's Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) in an eight year legal battle over competing multiple sclerosis medications.
The decision means that Pfizer and EMD Serono, Merck’s biopharma American subsidiary, will not be obliged to pay any royalties on sales of their MS drug Rebif (interferon beta-1a).
The jury voided the patent on Biogen's Avonex (interferon beta-1a) on the grounds that previously-existing information about the value of interferons as a treatment against different medical conditions made it invalid.
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