Xeris Files Two Patent Suits Over Generic KEVEYIS, Citing Newly Granted '502 Patent
Xeris Biopharma's 8-K names seven defendants in two New Jersey federal cases and seeks an injunction plus damages.
Xeris Biopharma sued two sets of generic-drug defendants on Tuesday, filing two patent infringement suits in federal court in New Jersey over generic versions of its KEVEYIS drug. The company disclosed the cases in an 8-K, the filing public companies use to report material events, dated Wednesday.
What the 8-K says
The suits were filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by Xeris Pharmaceuticals, the company's wholly owned subsidiary. They are two separate actions.
The first names Torrent Pharma, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited, Cycle Pharmaceuticals Limited, Lemed Pharmacy III and Lemed Specialty Pharmacy Arizona. The second names Rising Pharma Holdings and Rising Pharma Specialties.
Both rest on U.S. Patent No. 12,758,502, the '502 patent, which covers KEVEYIS (dichlorphenamide). The filing says the suits followed the patent's grant. The complaints allege each defendant will infringe it by making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing generic dichlorphenamide products.
What Xeris is asking for
The company wants a judgment of infringement and an injunction barring further infringement. It also seeks monetary damages, enhanced damages where the law permits, attorneys' fees, costs and any other relief the court considers appropriate.
The complaints allege future infringement: the wording is that each defendant "will" infringe, not that products are already on the market.
What it means for holders
The filing gives no damages figure and no court schedule. It is a disclosure that Xeris is defending a newly granted patent on KEVEYIS in two cases at once.
XERS shares closed at $10.20 at Tuesday's close, down 2.49% for that session. That session ended before the company disclosed the suits in its Wednesday filing, so the move is not a reaction to the news.
The 8-K was signed by Chief Financial Officer Steven M. Pieper and lists the newly granted '502 patent as the basis for both New Jersey cases.
