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A Delaware federal jury has determined that AstraZeneca Plc AZN must pay Pfizer Inc PFE $107.5 million in damages, concluding that AstraZeneca’s blockbuster lung cancer drug, Tagrisso, infringed on Pfizer’s Wyeth unit’s patent rights. The jury found that AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso violated two patents held by Pfizer, which cover methods for treating cancer using the breast cancer drug Nerlynx.
Also Read: Double Good News For AstraZeneca’s Breast Cancer Drugs . Puma Biotechnology Inc PBYI , which sells Nerlynx under a license from Pfizer, was initially part of the lawsuit but is no longer a plaintiff. AstraZeneca expressed disappointment with the verdict.
Citing the company’s spokesperson, Reuters noted that it is “confident in our IP position in relation to Tagrisso” and plans to “vigorously defend” its rights. Despite the setback, AstraZeneca maintains that its drug does not infringe on the patents and argues that patents themselves are invalid. Read Next: Pfizer Agrees To Settle Over 10,000 Lawsuits About Cancer Risks Associated With Discontinued Heartburn Drug Zantac .
Pfizer initiated the lawsuit against AstraZeneca in 2021, arguing that Tagrisso’s use of kinase inhibitors to treat cancer mirrored the method used by Nerlynx. In 2023, AstraZeneca reported Tagrisso sales of $5.8 billion .
The case is not yet fully resolved. U.S.
District Judge Matthew Kennelly is scheduled to hold a separate bench trial in June to address some of Astr.
