Federal Circuit upholds decision to throw out $107.5M patent infringement verdict against AstraZeneca

Context: In September 2021, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Pfizer for $68 billion in 2009 to expand its portfolio in biotechnology and vaccines, sued AstraZeneca in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware over the alleged infringement of two patents related to breast-cancer drug Nerlynx. The latter is produced by Puma Biotechnology with a license to Pfizer’s patents, and Wyeth specifically alleged that AstraZeneca’s lung-cancer treatment Tagrisso infringed on those patents. Last year alone, the drug helped AstraZeneca rake in over $7.2 billion in global revenue. In May 2024, Wyeth won a $107.5 million jury verdict – only to have it reversed by Judge Matthew Kennelly a few months later through a judgment as a matter of law (JMOL). The judge held that the patents lacked valid written descriptions of their inventions. Wyeth filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.