Ono sues AstraZeneca over antibody patents
Japan-based Ono Pharmaceuticals has sued AstraZeneca, accusing the US pharma company of infringing patents covering an antibody used in cancer treatment.
In a statement, Ono confirmed that it had filed the complaint at the Tokyo District Court on Monday, February 28.
The dispute concerns an anti-PD-L1 antibody that Ono argued is protected by the Japanese patent numbers, JP5885764 and JP6258428.
This antibody blocks programmed cell death 1 receptor (PD-1) and programmed cell death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1) that are responsible for the development of cancers in some patients.
The lawsuit alleged that AstraZeneca infringed through the marketing, sale and distribution of Imfinzi (durvalumab).
Durvalumab is an FDA-approved immunotherapy for cancer, developed by Medimmune and AstraZeneca, and is known as a checkpoint inhibitor drug.
Commenting on its lawsuit, Ono said: “We recognise IP as an extremely important management asset. Therefore, we have decided to take appropriate measures against acts that infringe our IP rights, leading to the filing of such a lawsuit this time.”
It added that given the treatment is related to the life-saving of patients, that it would not ask for a sales injunction of Imfinzi if it struck a deal with AstraZeneca before the legal proceedings began.
The company said however it expected an appropriate compensation, including royalties.
LSIPR has approached AstraZeneca for comment.
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