Hepatitis C patent suit
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Roche does not have "express or implied license rights" to hepatitis C virus (HCV) technology owned by Chiron, a San Francisco federal court rules. Announced Aug. 2 by Chiron, the June 23 ruling follows cross-motions for summary judgment. Filed in February 1998, the suit alleges that Roche's HCV assays infringe Chiron patents relating to nucleic acid testing (NAT) methods that use polynucleotides for detecting HCV in blood. Roche had claimed that it obtained a license to the Chiron technology in connection with its acquisition of Cetus Corporation's NAT business, Chiron says. Roche plans to appeal the decision