Pfizer battles one other Paxlovid lawsuit from Enanta
In case you don’t succeed at first, strive once more – in separate areas. That’s the motto Enanta Prescription drugs is following, no less than, after disclosing it has sued Pfizer in Europe over a patent infringement regarding Covid-19 therapy tablet Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir).
In June 2022, Enanta filed a lawsuit towards Pfizer in a US district courtroom in Massachusetts, claiming that the large pharma firm infringed on a patent describing protease inhibitors invented by its scientists. Enanta has now adopted that up with one other submitting in Europe, making the identical accusation.
Uncover B2B Advertising That Performs
Mix enterprise intelligence and editorial excellence to achieve engaged professionals throughout 36 main media platforms.
Since being emergency authorised in 2021, anti-viral Paxlovid has generated Pfizer greater than $26bn in international income. This features a staggering $18.9bn in 2022 when Covid-19 circumstances have been nonetheless prevalent. Regardless of waning demand for Covid-19 remedies, the tablet nonetheless introduced in $1.2bn in 2024, buoyed by authorities orders.
Nevertheless, Enanta – identified for co-developing hepatitis C virus therapy glecaprevir/pibrentasvir with AbbVie – believes Pfizer designed Paxlovid through illegal means.
The US biotech acknowledged it’s “looking for a dedication of legal responsibility to be used and infringement of European Patent No. EP 4 051 265 (the ’265 Patent) within the manufacture, use and sale of Pfizer’s Covid-19 antiviral, Paxlovid”.
In an emailed assertion to Pharmaceutical Expertise, a Pfizer spokesperson mentioned: “We’re assured in our mental property (IP) surrounding Paxlovid and can reply sooner or later in courtroom.”
The lawsuit, filed within the European Union’s (EU) Unified Patent Courtroom (UPC), targets Pfizer’s industrial exercise within the 18 international locations of the EU. The corporate confirmed the ’265 patent in query is the European counterpart of US patent quantity 11,358,953 (the ’953 Patent) that’s the centre of the US lawsuit.
Though it’s technically ongoing, Enanta’s US lawsuit hit a serious roadblock. In December 2024, a federal choose in Massachusetts sided with Pfizer, granting that the ‘953 patent is invalid. Enanta confirmed on the time it might enchantment the choice, including it “believes strongly within the deserves of our case”.
Pfizer reported sturdy Q2 2025 outcomes this month, bucking a tepid earnings window that gripped the broader pharma business. Gross sales for the Paxlovid grew 71% whereas the Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty income surged 95%.
Nevertheless, the authorized problem posed by Enanta marks the second situation Pfizer has needed to firefight this week. The massive pharma firm reported a Part III trial failure for a sickle cell illness candidate bought as a part of a $5.4bn takeover of International Blood Therapeutics in 2022.
Join our day by day information round-up!
Give what you are promoting an edge with our main business insights.
