Delaware court finds two United Therapeutics patent claims valid against Liquidia's YUTREPIA
Liquidia shares were halted earlier in the day after falling 23%, before the ruling split the six disputed patent claims between the two companies
Published
A federal court in Delaware has ruled that two of six patent claims asserted by United Therapeutics against Liquidia are valid and infringed by Liquidia's pulmonary hypertension drug YUTREPIA. The remaining four claims were found invalid.
The claims found valid cover the use of inhaled treprostinil to treat pulmonary hypertension with interstitial lung disease, a use protected under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Liquidia said it plans to submit a supplement to YUTREPIA's new drug application to remove that indication while it pursues an appeal.
CEO Roger Jeffs said, "We respectfully disagree with the Court's decision regarding claims 1 and 14 and are fully prepared to pursue all available appellate options." The two companies must submit a proposed form of judgment specifying remedies within one week.
Liquidia shares were halted earlier in the day after dropping 23%. The ruling narrows rather than resolves the dispute that triggered that move, confirming infringement on two of six claims while clearing Liquidia on the rest. The requirement to strip the PH-ILD indication from YUTREPIA's application limits the commercial scope Liquidia can pursue for that use while the appeal proceeds. Because a proposed judgment is due within a week, concrete remedies, potentially including an injunction, could arrive quickly rather than remaining unresolved.