NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday found a pattern of
misconduct by Merck & Co including lying under oath and other
unethical practices, freeing Gilead Sciences Inc from paying any damages
for infringing Merck's patents with its lucrative treatments for
hepatitis C, Sovaldi and Harvoni.
The dramatic ruling comes after a federal jury in San Jose, California, on March 24 ordered Gilead to pay $200 million in damages, after finding Merck's patents were valid.
U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman in San Jose, California said Gilead proved that in the process of applying for its patents, Merck deceptively used confidential information from a company Gilead bought in 2011.
Gilead had also been facing a demand from Merck for a ongoing royalty of at least 12 percent of all future sales of the drugs, according to court papers. Gilead made $23 billion on the two pills in the U.S. alone over the last two years.
Pharmaceutical firms such as Merck, which recently launched its own hepatitis C drug, Zepatier, are trying to chip away at Gilead's dominant position in the market for a new generation of drugs, which cure the liver disease in well over 90 percent of patients.
Some policy makers and insurers have criticized their costs. Harvoni, for instance, lists at $1,125 per pill before discounts and $94,000 for a 12-week regimen.
The case dates back to 2013 when Gilead and Merck sued each other, claiming ownership of laboratory work underlying sofosbuvir, the active ingredient in Gilead's drugs.
The dramatic ruling comes after a federal jury in San Jose, California, on March 24 ordered Gilead to pay $200 million in damages, after finding Merck's patents were valid.
U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman in San Jose, California said Gilead proved that in the process of applying for its patents, Merck deceptively used confidential information from a company Gilead bought in 2011.
Gilead had also been facing a demand from Merck for a ongoing royalty of at least 12 percent of all future sales of the drugs, according to court papers. Gilead made $23 billion on the two pills in the U.S. alone over the last two years.
Pharmaceutical firms such as Merck, which recently launched its own hepatitis C drug, Zepatier, are trying to chip away at Gilead's dominant position in the market for a new generation of drugs, which cure the liver disease in well over 90 percent of patients.
Some policy makers and insurers have criticized their costs. Harvoni, for instance, lists at $1,125 per pill before discounts and $94,000 for a 12-week regimen.
The case dates back to 2013 when Gilead and Merck sued each other, claiming ownership of laboratory work underlying sofosbuvir, the active ingredient in Gilead's drugs.
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