Morrison & Foerster Secures $775M Patent Settlement for Client Chugai

Morrison & Foerster helped secure a $775 million patent litigation settlement for its client, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s sales of the anti-complement antibody product, ULTOMIRIS® (ravulizumab).

Chugai is one of Japan’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies with strengths in biotechnology products. The patents-at-issue in the litigation claim methods of using recycling antibodies to bind to an antigen multiple times, allowing patients to be dosed less frequently than when using conventional antibodies.

A jury trial was scheduled to begin in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on February 14, but the parties filed a motion that morning to stay the case pending finalization of a settlement agreement. In addition to the settlement payment and in accordance with the settlement agreement, Chugai and Alexion are in the process of withdrawing patent infringement proceedings in the United States (U.S. Patent No. 9,890,377 and No. 10,472,623) and elsewhere in the world.  

The Morrison & Foerster team representing Chugai was led by intellectual property litigation and trial partners Eric Acker, Brian Kramer, and Akira Irie, and appellate partner, Brian Matsui.