Ward, Smith & Hill Helps Secure $41.8M Patent Infringement Victory for Biotech Company Seagen Inc.

Attorneys Johnny Ward, Wes Hill and Andrea Fair among trial team 

MARSHALL, Texas, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal jury has awarded biotechnology company Seagen Inc. $41.8 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against Daiichi Sankyo Co. LTD, for infringing a cancer treatment pharmaceutical patent developed by Seagen.

The four-day trial took place in U.S. Chief Judge Rodney Gilstrap's courtroom in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall. As part of the verdict, the jury rejected claims by Daiichi Sankyo and co-defendant AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals challenging the validity of Seagen's patent at the heart of the dispute.

Seagen filed the lawsuit in October 2020 for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 10,808,039, which relates to a type of cancer therapy that links chemotherapeutic drugs to antibodies using cleavable amino acid units.

According to the lawsuit, Daiichi used Seagen's patent in its Enhertu medication, earning more than $522 million in sales through the date of trial.

"We worked with an incredible team to show how Seagen's drug technology was willfully infringed and used by the defendant to make millions," said Johnny Ward, co-founder of the firm. "We are proud the jury agreed with our side."

Ward, Smith & Hill attorneys Wes Hill and Andrea Fair completed the local counsel team working with trial attorneys Michael Jacobs, Matthew Chivvis, Bryan Wilson and Matthew Kreeger of Morrison & Foerster, LLP.

To learn more about Ward Smith & Hill's patent litigation practice, visit: http://wsfirm.com/practice-areas/patent-litigation/.

The case is Seagen Inc. vs. Daiichi Sankyo Co., LTD, case number 2:20-cv-00337-JRG, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall.

Longview, Texas-based Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC, has tried more than 350 cases to verdict, earning a national reputation in high-stakes claims involving complex commercial litigation, intellectual property law, oil and gas matters, bad faith insurance claims, and serious personal injury claims. The firm frequently assists lawyers nationwide in complex cases before Texas juries. To learn more about the firm, visit http://www.wsfirm.com.  

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SOURCE Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC