Wyeth, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer Inc., sued AstraZeneca in 2021 for infringing upon two patents related to methods for treating lung cancer. The suit asserted that AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug, Tagrisso, infringed U.S. Patent Nos. 10,603,314 and 10,596,162. Tagrisso is a prescription drug used to treat non-small lung cancer in adults—in particular, adults with abnormal epidermal growth factor receptor genes. Tagrisso was a significant revenue generator for AstraZeneca in 2023, reportedly bringing in $5.8 billion.
The jury unanimously found that AstraZeneca infringed three claims of Wyeth’s ’314 patent and one claim of the ’162 patent. Specifically, the jury found that AstraZeneca induced doctors and other healthcare providers to infringe the asserted claims by encouraging them to prescribe Tagrisso. These violations held for both the second-line and first-line adjuvant uses of Tagrisso. The jury also rejected AstraZeneca’s validity challenges to Wyeth’s patents, including lack of enablement, written description, anticipation, and obviousness. The case is set to continue in a separate bench trial in June to address AstraZeneca’s remaining equitable defenses.
DRC assisted the trial team with trial strategy consulting and jury selection.