A federal jury in Delaware determined that AstraZeneca infringed two Pfizer patents with its blockbuster cancer treatment Tagrisso, and that the British drugmaker should pay $107.5 million as a result.
The patents in question cover certain methods of treating non-small cell lung cancer with an EGFR inhibitor.
Pfizer licensed the patents to Puma Biotechnology in 2011. Then, in 2021, Pfizer and Puma filed a lawsuit seeking a “reasonable royalty” for alleged infringement of the ‘314 and ‘162 patents. Pfizer’s suit is filed under Wyeth, the pharmaceutical company that Pfizer acquired in 2009.
On Friday, the jury found that AstraZeneca has induced infringement of both patents, though they noted that Wyeth did not prove AstraZeneca did so willfully. Puma was dismissed as a plaintiff earlier this year.
Tagrisso was AstraZeneca’s top-selling oncology drug in 2023, generating nearly $5.8 billion in sales.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson on Monday told Endpoints News that the company is “disappointed by the jury’s verdict,” noting that the drugmaker has raised additional defenses, which will be heard during a bench trial in the same court in mid-June.
“We are confident in our IP position in relation to Tagrisso, and we will vigorously defend our rights,” the spokesperson said.
Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.