AstraZeneca pays $775 mln to settle drug dispute with Japan's Chugai (updated)

Chugai Pharmaceutical

17/03/2022 07:45

(Adds details, background)
    March 17 (Reuters) - Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc
 AZN.L  said on Thursday it would pay $775 million to settle a
patent dispute with Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical  4519.T 
involving lucrative rare disease treatment Ultomiris.
    Both AstraZeneca and Chugai will withdraw patent
infringement cases filed in the United States and Japan dating
back to 2018 as part of the settlement, the London-listed
company said in a statement.
    AstraZeneca will book the settlement payment as a charge in
its first-quarter results. The payment won't affect its annual
financial forecasts.
    Ultomiris, which fetched nearly $700 million in 2021 sales,
is developed by AstraZeneca's rare disease division Alexion, a
U.S. drugmaker acquired by the British firm last year for $39
billion.
    The drug was initially developed as a treatment for the
neurological disorder ALS, but Alexion halted these efforts last
year after lack of efficacy in a late-stage trial.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2PR2BY
    Ultomiris is currently approved in some markets as a
treatment for two rare diseases - atypical-HUS, a condition that
affects kidney function, and PNH, a serious blood disorder.
    

 (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
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