Cat Triumphs Over Parsimonious Abbott

Here's a coup for the LexisNexis subscription-only All England Direct service -- a real swiftly delivered banker's complaint on Cambridge Antibody Technology v Abbott Biotechnology Ltd too another, [2004] EWHC 2974 (Pat), a Patents Court determination of Mr Justice Laddie yesterday.

CAT, a research-based company, was involved inwards the evolution too licensing of applied scientific discipline relating to the production of antibodies. Abbott were a grouping of pharmaceutical companies too its belongings company. In 1993 CAT licensed Abbott to operate its applied scientific discipline to attain a genetically-engineered human antibody for operate inwards the handling of rheumatoid arthritis. That understanding was renewed inwards 1995. The final result of the collaboration betwixt them was that Abbott produced a meat called HUMIRA. Under the agreements Abbott had to pay CAT royalties of merely over 5% of the internet sales of HUMIRA, dependent area to an starting fourth dimension or royalty-sharing provision. That provision allowed Abbott to deduct from the royalties one-half the royalties due nether licences from tertiary parties for for sure categories of technology, dependent area to the payment past times Abbott of a minimum royalty of 2%.

Humira: making rheum for to a greater extent than royalty payments

A dispute arose every bit to the important of the royalty provisions of the agreements. Abbott said they were entitled to starting fourth dimension 50% of the royalties it paid to tertiary parties inwards honor of other patented applied scientific discipline used inwards the evolution of HUMIRA. As they had taken licences nether a let out of tertiary political party patents, Abbott argued that the starting fourth dimension had reduced the sum payable to CAT to the minimum payment of 2%, calculating its royalty payments accordingly. CAT accepted that the agreements contained an starting fourth dimension provision but contended that it applied solely to royalties Abbott needed to pay: since all Abbott's licences related to patents roofing parts of the HUMIRA production procedure but didn't involve CAT's technology, the starting fourth dimension provision should non locomote triggered. CAT hence demanded that Abbott pay a royalty for the volume of its sales of HUMIRA at the charge per unit of measurement of merely over 5%.

Laddie J allowed CAT's claim, belongings that on the truthful structure of the agreements the structure argued past times CAT was correct. It was, he said, the solely structure which was consistent amongst all the other provisions of the agreements too made commercial feel inwards the factual matrix inside which the agreements had been made. Accordingly, the royalties payable past times Abbott should conduct keep been calculated on the reason of the total royalty of unopen to 5%.

looks frontward to reading the total transcript of this decision: it's slowly to cause upwardly one's hear the commercial feel inwards retrospect, but non then slowly to divine it from the words the parties genuinely operate when expressing their respective legal commitments.

's favourite Abbot here
More treatments for rheumatoid arthritis here, here and here
Arthritic royalty here