Boston, MA 09/08/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Global health care company Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been dragged to the court by biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) on the patent issue concerning the immunotherapy.
Patent Issue
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been charged with infringing Bristol-Myers’ patent of immunotherapy, which is a system that makes use of the body’s own immune mechanism to get rid of cancer cells, Reuters reported. Bristol-Myer has filed a lawsuit in the Delaware District Court of the U.S. charging Merck of intending to exploit Bristol-Myers’ innovation with a later-developed treatment, pembrolizumab, thus breaching its May 20 patent.
The regulators in the U.S. have approved pembrolizumab use on Thursday as a treatment for patients affected by advanced melanoma and who have not been responding to other treatments. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) has been making use of its patented technology to establish its own drug, nivolumab, which was tested in various cancer areas including melanoma.
Bristol-Myers To File Application With FDA
The company indicated that it would file an application with the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. or the FDA towards the end of this month for using the drug, which got the nod from Japan, for patients affected by advanced melanoma.
Other companies such as Novartis AG (ADR) (INYSE:NVS) and Roche Holding AG Ltd. (VTX:ROG) were also in the development process of similar drugs. A day from the American Cancer Society said that about 76,100 fresh melanomas would be diagnosed this year.
The disease has been regarded as the most dangerous type of skin cancer, which can originate from any parts of the body and which has pigment-containing cells. Reuters said that both Bristol-Myers and Merck were not available for comments.
FDA Approves Keytrauda
On Thursday, i.e. September 4, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) said that it has received accelerated approval of Keytrauda, pembrolizumab, the first anti-PD-1 therapy at a dosage of 2 mg/kg every three weeks for the treatment of unrespectable or metastatic melanoma.
