Pharmaceutical companies ImClone Systems (IMCL.NAS) and Sanofi-Aventis (SASY) have lost a court case pertaining to a patent for the methodology that inhibits the growth of tumour cells. The ruling may result in the two companies paying royalties on the sale of their experimental cancer treatment drug, Erbitux, to an Israel-based research institute.
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and its licensing arm, the Yeda Research and Development Company, had filed a suit in 2003 alleging that the concerned technology was developed by their researchers, whose name were not included in the list of inventors of the patent that was awarded in 2001.
Monday's ruling by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the Federal District Court of New York is expected to entitle the researchers to royalties on the sale of Erbitux.The judge directed the US Patent and Trademark Office to replace the current seven names on the controversial patent with those of Professor Michael Sela, Dr Esther Aboud-Pirak and Dr Esther Hurwitz of the Israeli research institute. ImClone Systems said that it disagrees with the court ruling.