Novartis settles patent dispute with UK company

Novartis has agreed to settle a dispute with Acambis, the Cambridge-based vaccine development company, concerning patents for the Arilvax yellow fever vaccine.

Running for seven years, the disagreement between the two companies centred on the “non-performance” of predecessor companies acquired by Novartis.

Under a new agreement between the companies, Novartis will compensate Acambis with a $19 million (10 million pounds) settlement figure, while granting the vaccines company an “exclusive” option to negotiate a licence for the worldwide rights to Arilvax.

Gordon Cameron, chief executive officer of Acambis, stated: “We are delighted to have reached agreement with Novartis to settle this long-standing dispute.”

“By resolving this situation, we have further strengthened our balance sheet and can ensure that management attention and company resources are focused on our increasingly valuable proprietary pipeline,” he added.

Last week, Acambis won a patent dispute against Bavarian Nordic regarding patents for modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA). Bavarian Nordic had accused Acambis of infringing its MVA patents, but Acambis argued that the patents were invalid because the company should have freedom to operate in researching MVA.

According to Acambis, 30,000 people die every year from yellow fever. It claims that vaccines for the disease have been available for sixty years, representing “safe and effective” technology.

The vaccine is produced at Novartis Vaccines’ Speke plant near Liverpool, which was formerly of Chiron Vaccines.