A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday dealt a major blow to Merck & Co Inc as it upheld a ruling that threw out a $2.54 billion jury verdict the drugmaker had won against Gilead Sciences Inc.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a determination by a federal judge in Delaware that the Merck patent at issue in the case, which relates to hepatitis C treatment, was invalid.
Merck said in a statement it was disappointed with the decision and reviewing its options for an appeal, while Gilead said it was pleased with the ruling and confident it would be upheld if appealed further.
