Regeneron, Roche ophthalmic news
Regeneron said it settled patent litigation with Roche's Genentech Inc. unit related to U.S. ophthalmic sales of Eylea aflibercept, a VEGF inhibitor. Regeneron said it received a non-exclusive, U.S. license to patents relating to VEGF receptor proteins, known as the Davis-Smyth patents, and other technology patents for ophthalmic indications. Regeneron will make payments to Genentech based on cumulative U.S. sales of Eylea through May 7, 2016. Regeneron will pay Genentech $60 million after sales reach $400 million, a 4.8% royalty on sales of $400 million to $3 billion and a 5.5% royalty on sales over $3 billion.
In February, Regeneron filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking declaratory judgment that aflibercept does not infringe the patents. Genentech markets ophthalmic drug Lucentis ranibizumab, a humanized mAb fragment against VEGF-A, in the U.S. Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN, Basel Switzerland) markets the drug elsewhere. Eylea is a human fusion protein that binds all forms of VEGF-A and placental growth factor (PIGF). In November, FDA approved Eylea for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Regeneron has rights to Eylea in the U.S., while Bayer AG (Xetra:BAY, Leverkusen, Germany) will market the product elsewhere. ...