Biogen to pay Berlex $55 million

BGEN will pay Berlex $55 million under a 2002 settlement of litigation in which Berlex had alleged that BGEN's Avonex interferon beta-1a infringed Berlex's McCormick patents covering the production of beta interferon in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. BGEN last year paid Berlex $20 million for a non-exclusive license to the patents. BGEN's $55 million payment follows a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that multiple sclerosis drug Avonex does not literally infringe Berlex's patents. However, the court remanded the case to a lower court to determine if one of the patents might be infringed under the doctrine of equivalents. BGEN said this issue will not be litigated. ...