The media is taking notice of our efforts to protect the small Davis based pharmaceutical company, Ixchel, and the patients affected by this case. Below is the entire article from Law360 with a link to the original. Below it is a link to another article in the Sacramento Business Journal.
No Cracks In Antitrust Suit Against Biogen, Rival Argues
From Law360, Fort Wayne (August 14, 2017, 2:19 PM EDT) — Ixchel Pharma LLC on Friday told a California federal court it had already suffered financial losses due to rival Biogen Inc.’s alleged anti-competitive scheme to undermine its development of a treatment for a rare neuromuscular disease and asked that its lawsuit be allowed to proceed.
It is no mere speculation that Biogen harmed Ixchel by buying off its collaborator Forward Pharma FA ApS, with whom it was working on a drug to treat Friedreich’s ataxia, Ixchel said in a response to Biogen’s bid to dismiss the case.
“Ixchel is a direct victim of Biogen’s anti-competitive conduct, and therefore stands as the best (and possibly only) party who can bring an antitrust claim against Biogen,” Ixchel said in the filing.
Ixchel also had the necessary intent and preparedness to enter the market with its drug, the company argued. Ixchel was well on the way to introduce the treatment, having hired the necessary personnel, conducted the proper experiments and made the agreement with Forward before Biogen intervened, it said.
Ixchel filed the suit in April, accusing Biogen of attempting to hold a monopoly on drug treatments containing dimethyl fumerate, an active ingredient in Biogen’s blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera that also holds promise for treating Friedreich’s ataxia, according to Ixchel’s complaint.
In January 2016, Ixchel entered into an agreement with Forward to develop the Friedreich’s ataxia treatment, but the company was unaware that Forward was secretly negotiating a deal with Biogen to settle an intellectual property dispute over DMF that would take Forward out of the market for DMF-containing drugs permanently, the suit said.
In January of this year, Forward and Biogen reached a deal that required Forward to terminate all dealings with Ixchel over the treatment in exchange for $1.25 billion, the complaint says.
Since Forward pulled out, Ixchel has been unable to find a new development partner and has lost out on future royalties from the new treatment provided for under their agreement, according to the company’s complaint.
Biogen has asked that the case be tossed out, saying in a motion to dismiss filed in May that Ixchel failed to show how Biogen’s decision to enter a patent settlement and license agreement caused any harm to competition.
Ixchel is represented by Christopher D. Banys, Richard C. Lin, Jennifer L. Gilbert and Christopher J. Judge of Banys PC.
Biogen is represented by Mark Popofsky and Rocky Tsai of Ropes & Gray LLP.
The case is Ixchel Pharma LLC v. Biogen Inc., case number 2:17-cv-00715, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
–Editing by Christine Chun.
Read the original article and related stories: https://www.law360.com/articles/953824/no-cracks-in-antitrust-suit-against-biogen-rival-argues
“Biogen knew (the deal) would stop Ixchel from entering the market,” said Christopher Banys, attorney for Ixchel and founder of Banys P.C… https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2017/08/16/davis-based-pharmaceutical-company-takes-on.html
