Truce reached in transgenic mouse battle

After nearly three years of laboratory and legal rivalry, Cell Genesys Inc. (CEGE) and GenPharm International last week announced that they will cross-license their patents involving transgenic mice that produce human antibodies, and that CEGE will pay GenPharm up to $30 million to settle their litigation.

The agreement appears to settle an acrimonious dispute in which CEGE sued its rival in 1994, alleging that GenPharm had stolen trade secrets pertaining to the inactivation of mouse antibody genes. GenPharm, which halted efforts to file for an IPO following the suit, subsequently downsized...