Gilead wins reversal of US$2.54b hepatitis C drug patent verdict

Boston

A US federal judge in Delaware has overturned a jury's verdict requiring Gilead Sciences Inc to pay a record US$2.54 billion because its hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni infringed a patent held by rival Merck & Co Inc.

The verdict had been the largest ever in a US patent case but US District Judge Leonard Stark in Wilmington, Delaware, last Friday ruled that Merck's patent was invalid.