Halozyme wins court order to block Merck's injected Keytruda in select European markets

Merck & Co

07/10/2026 14:27

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Biopharma company Halozyme HALO.O said on Wednesday that a Dutch patent court ruled in its favor against Merck MRK.N, ordering the drugmaker to halt the manufacture and sale of injectable Keytruda in eight European markets.

Here are some details:
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.
Merck did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
"We're very pleased the Dutch court recognized the validity and infringement of Halozyme's MDASE patent," said Mark Snyder, the company's chief legal officer.
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.

 (Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
 ((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com;))