Plexxikon Wins Tafinlar Patent Dispute Case Against Novartis

Plexxikon, Inc. won a patent infringement lawsuit against Novartis AG on 22 July, in a dispute over intellectual property rights for cancer drug Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and the BRAF inhibitor class, giving the Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. subsidiary $177.8m in damages along with royalty rights on US sales of Tafinlar for the remainder of its US patent life.

Novartis issued a statement saying it acknowledges the jury verdict from the case heard at the US District Court for the Northern District of California and that it is considering its options, including a potential appeal of the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit