Gilead to pay Merck in patent dispute

A federal jury in California has ordered Gilead Sciences, maker of the hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni, to pay $200 million in damages to Merck & Co. for patent infringement. The patents relate to an active ingredient in both drugs, sofosbuvir, which Gilead acquired from Pharmasset in 2011. The dispute centered on whether Pharmasset derived the chemical from a Merck patent or whether Merck’s patent was based on work done at Pharmasset. The jury found for Merck but calculated damages far below the $2 billion Merck sought. In closing arguments, Gilead had said that it paid an estimated $15 billion to acquire and develop sofosbuvir. Merck won approval for its hepatitis C drug, Zepatier, earlier this year.