Gilead Sciences Inc. on Friday said it scored a key victory in
securing the rights to its hepatitis C treatment, after an
arbitration panel ruled in its favor over Roche Holding AG's claim
on the lucrative drug.
The panel ruled on Thursday that Roche failed to establish any
of its claims to sofosbuvir, the key ingredient in Sovaldi,
according to a filing from Gilead.
A Roche representative said the company is disappointed in the
arbitration decision.
The high-price Sovaldi, which costs about $1,000 a day for a
12-week treatment course, pulled in up to $5 billion in sales
during the first half of the year, and it is believed to be the
biggest-selling prescription drug launch ever.
With several other hepatitis C drugs in development, a number of
big pharmaceutical companies have been waging legal battles to
secure their patent rights over the lucrative new market.
Roche claimed it had exclusive rights to the drug because in
2004 it collaborated on research with Pharmasset, which developed
the drug. Gilead bought Pharmasset in 2012 for $11 billion, and
Roche proceeded with its arbitration case last year. The hearing
was held in June, Gilead said.
In addition to Roche, Merck & Co. has claimed that Sovaldi
infringes on its patents and rights, while AbbVie Inc. has received
patents in the U.S. that cover drug combinations to treat hepatitis
C--including Gilead's Sovaldi and experimental drug ledipasvir.
AbbVie filed a lawsuit in February claiming that it would be
entitled to damages if Gilead brought the combination to
market.
Meanwhile, U.K. regulators on Thursday endorsed Sovaldi and
recommended that the country's health system pay for the treatment.
U.S. authorities had approved the drug in December.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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