PD1 Lawsuit: BMS vs. Merck

Your post is timely–I was just opening the forum to address this issue!

I have reached out to both BMS and Merck. Not surprisingly they are not able to say much at this time. The most important thing is this:

BMS has not filed an injunction against Merck, and neither company anticipates that this legal action will have any impact on availability of Keytruda to patients.

On a personal note, I was very frustrated when I read about this yesterday morning. I had just shared the good news about Keytruda's approval with a young patient struggling with multiple metastases and she was thrilled to think that PD1 would be available to her. The contrast between that conversation and this legal action is stark.

I don't claim to know patent law. I do believe that companies have the right to patent their ideas, and the right to defend their patents. In fact, failing to defend a patent or trademark can mean you lose your rights to that exculsivity. Perhaps this suit was filed in that spirit–not so much an action against Merck but a step to ensure the patents were not lost.

Regardless, in a time when we need innovation and a faster way to get promising drugs to the market, I hate to see legal wrangling enter the mix. Should this lawsuit result in delays to access the result will be horrendous. I know that neither company wants that to happen.

Tim–MRF

Your post is timely–I was just opening the forum to address this issue!

I have reached out to both BMS and Merck. Not surprisingly they are not able to say much at this time. The most important thing is this:

BMS has not filed an injunction against Merck, and neither company anticipates that this legal action will have any impact on availability of Keytruda to patients.

On a personal note, I was very frustrated when I read about this yesterday morning. I had just shared the good news about Keytruda's approval with a young patient struggling with multiple metastases and she was thrilled to think that PD1 would be available to her. The contrast between that conversation and this legal action is stark.

I don't claim to know patent law. I do believe that companies have the right to patent their ideas, and the right to defend their patents. In fact, failing to defend a patent or trademark can mean you lose your rights to that exculsivity. Perhaps this suit was filed in that spirit–not so much an action against Merck but a step to ensure the patents were not lost.

Regardless, in a time when we need innovation and a faster way to get promising drugs to the market, I hate to see legal wrangling enter the mix. Should this lawsuit result in delays to access the result will be horrendous. I know that neither company wants that to happen.

Tim–MRF

Your post is timely–I was just opening the forum to address this issue!

I have reached out to both BMS and Merck. Not surprisingly they are not able to say much at this time. The most important thing is this:

BMS has not filed an injunction against Merck, and neither company anticipates that this legal action will have any impact on availability of Keytruda to patients.

On a personal note, I was very frustrated when I read about this yesterday morning. I had just shared the good news about Keytruda's approval with a young patient struggling with multiple metastases and she was thrilled to think that PD1 would be available to her. The contrast between that conversation and this legal action is stark.

I don't claim to know patent law. I do believe that companies have the right to patent their ideas, and the right to defend their patents. In fact, failing to defend a patent or trademark can mean you lose your rights to that exculsivity. Perhaps this suit was filed in that spirit–not so much an action against Merck but a step to ensure the patents were not lost.

Regardless, in a time when we need innovation and a faster way to get promising drugs to the market, I hate to see legal wrangling enter the mix. Should this lawsuit result in delays to access the result will be horrendous. I know that neither company wants that to happen.

Tim–MRF