Lilly, Point Biopharma accused of patent infringement of cancer drugs
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Eli Lilly and Co. and a biopharma company it bought last year are accused of infringing on the patent held by the Purdue Research Foundation to treat cancer.
The research foundation filed a complaint in U.S. District Court on Thursday. Companies Endocyte Inc. of Lafayette and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Switzerland are named as co-plaintiffs.
Named as defendants are Indianapolis-based Lilly and Point Biopharma, a company developing so-called “radioligand drugs” that Lilly bought last year for $1.4 billion.
At issue is whether a drug developed by Point Biopharma, based in Indianapolis, infringed on a patent issued in 2020 and assigned to Purdue.
The lawsuit comes as pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop radioligand drugs to treat cancer.
They are a new class of cancer drugs that are touted to be a more effective and safer than traditional cancer drugs. They work by linking a radioisotope to a targeting molecule that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells. Much of the explosive growth in this sector is happening in central Indiana, where large and small companies are vying to set up operations.
According to the complaint, Point’s experimental drug for prostate cancer falls within the scope of at least three claims of the Purdue patent and thus infringes on the patent.
A Lilly spokesman released the following statement to IBJ:
“Novartis, Endocyte and Purdue Research Foundation’s lawsuit against Lilly, POINT Biopharma Global, and POINT Biopharma Inc. lacks merit. We look forward to defending against these claims and allegations, and we are confident the outcome will permit us to advance competitive innovation for patients.on prostate cancer treatments for years under the Purdue patent.”
Endocyte, a biopharma company founded in 1996, was co-founded by one of the inventors of the patent, Dr. Philip Low, building on the research at Purdue University by Low and co-inventor Dr. Sumith Kularatne.
“Through years of innovation, the inventors and Endocyte have revolutionized the treatment of prostate cancer,” the complaint said.
In 2018, Endocyte was acquired by Novartis, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, which continued Endocyte’s work in developing Purdue’s intellectual property, the suit said. Novartis manufactures and sells the treatment under the brand name Pluvicto.
Endocyte has exclusively sublicensed rights in the patent to another Novartis company, NPC.
In November 2022, Point entered into an agreement with Lantheus to commercialize its experimental drug, PNT2002. Point has offered to supply Lantheus with doses of PNT 2002, including doses for commercial use, the suit said.
The plaintiffs are asking for a judgment that Point has infringed on its patent by importing, making, using, offering to sell and/or selling PNT2002 in the United States. They are also asking for an order permanently enjoining Point and its affiliates, parents and officers of selling PNT2002.
The case was assigned to Judge Richard Young.