Halozyme Wins Dutch Court Order Blocking Merck's Injectable Keytruda in 8 European Markets
Bengaluru: Biopharma company Halozyme said on Wednesday that a Dutch patent court ruled in its favor against Merck, ordering the drugmaker to halt the manufacture and sale of injectable Keytruda in eight European markets.
Halozyme said a specialized Dutch patent court in The Hague found that Merck had infringed one of its patents covering MDASE, Halozyme's technology for rapid, high-volume under-the-skin drug delivery.
The court ordered Merck to stop the production and sale of injectable Keytruda in Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The drugmaker has been counting on the simpler-to-use subcutaneous version of the drug, known as Keytruda SC, to help drive growth as key patents on its original intravenous version expire later in the decade.
"We strongly disagree with the Dutch court's decision to grant a cross-border injunction. We consider Halozyme's patent to be invalid globally and its allegation of infringement to be without merit," a Merck spokesperson said in a statement.
The company said it is evaluating next steps.
Halozyme has also sued Merck for patent infringement in the US, alleging the under-the-skin formulation of Keytruda infringes 15 patents that Halozyme has filed since 2011.
The company sued Merck in Germany and was granted a preliminary injunction last year, stopping Merck's launch of Keytruda SC in Germany.
