荷兰法院驳回Halozyme禁售Keytruda Qlex申请，Alteogen专利风险继续缓解

A Dutch court has dismissed a preliminary injunction request filed by Halozyme Therapeutics (Halozyme), a competitor of Alteogen (196170.KQ), seeking to halt sales of "Keytruda Qlex." Keytruda Qlex is a product launched by Merck (MSD) that applies Alteogen's subcutaneous (SC) formulation-changing technology "ALT-B4." Analysts say the uncertainty surrounding Alteogen is being resolved as MSD wins a series of favorable rulings in its patent dispute with Halozyme.
According to foreign media on the 23rd, the Hague District Court in the Netherlands recently dismissed Halozyme's preliminary injunction request to halt sales of Keytruda Qlex in Denmark and Sweden. MSD and Halozyme are currently disputing the validity of Halozyme's European Patent No. 2797622 at the Hague District Court. With Halozyme's request to halt sales of Keytruda Qlex during the patent litigation dismissed, MSD is expected to continue its ongoing commercialization process.
As MSD wins a series of favorable rulings in its global dispute with Halozyme, analysts say the uncertainty surrounding Alteogen is also being resolved. In May this year, the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidated US Patent No. 11952600, related to Halozyme's subcutaneous formulation-changing technology "MDASE." The UK Patent Court also revoked the UK-designated portion of Halozyme's European Patent No. 2797622 last month and ordered Halozyme to pay compensatory litigation costs. However, the Munich District Court in Germany granted Halozyme's request to halt sales of Keytruda Qlex in litigation related to the same patent in December last year.
MSD and Halozyme are currently pursuing patent litigation related to Keytruda Qlex in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. In addition to multiple patent invalidation reviews (PGR) pending at the PTAB, a patent infringement lawsuit involving 15 of Halozyme's MDASE patents is pending at the US Federal Court in New Jersey. Suh Keun-hee, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said, "The logic of the PTAB's ruling in May this year is highly likely to apply equally to other related patents," adding, "The remaining review outcomes and federal court rulings going forward will be the key variables determining the competitive landscape of the SC platform."