PDL BioPharma Settles Keytruda Patent Infringement Lawsuit With Merck

(RTTNews) - PDL BioPharma, Inc. (PDLI) announced Monday that on April 21, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with certain subsidiaries of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) to resolve the patent infringement lawsuit between the parties pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey related to Merck's Keytruda humanized antibody product.

Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will pay the Company a one time, lump-sum payment of $19.5 million, and the Company will grant Merck a fully paid-up, royalty free, non-exclusive license to certain of the Company's Queen et al. patent rights for use in connection with Keytruda as well as a covenant not to sue Merck for any royalties regarding Keytruda.

In addition, the parties agreed to dismiss all claims in the relevant legal proceedings.

In pre-market activity, PDL shares were gaining 2.48 percent to $2.07.