Ariad files counter-claim against Amgen, Wyeth
Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) announced Friday it has filed a counter-claim against Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) and Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) in a patent infringement suit.
In April 2006, Amgen filed a lawsuit against Cambridge, Mass.-based Ariad, which develops drugs to treat cancer. Amgen’s goal was to nullify a patent of Ariad’s in order to protect its Enbrel arthritis drug.
Later in the year, Ariad unsuccessfully sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.
Ariad Chairman and CEO Dr. Harvey Berger said his firm’s counter-claim illustrates Ariad’s “strong belief in the validity and enforceability of” its patent.
Last May, Ariad, along with Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, won a patent-infringement suit against Eli Lilly and Co. Harvard, MIT and Whitehead licensed the patent to Ariad.
Steep legal fees associated with the lawsuit contributed to Ariad posting a nearly $62 million loss during the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, up from a $55.5 million loss in fiscal 2005. In February, Ariad received a $50 million equity financing commitment from Azimuth Opportunity Ltd. for up to $50 million of its common stock.
Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ARIA) were up $0.41, or 9.2%, to $4.85 in after-hour trading Friday. The company’s stock has traded between $4.06 (on Aug. 28, 2006) and $5.72 (on Nov. 20, 2006) in the past year.
