Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) Sues Bayer Over Anti-Cancer Compound
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Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: ONXX) said yesterday it sued Bayer AG (OTC: BAYRY) over its rights to an anti-cancer compound that it says it discovered during joint research with Bayer.
Onyx's lawsuit seeks a declaration that fluoro-sorafenib is a jointly owned collaboration compound under an agreement between Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Bayer.
Onyx said it learned that the compound is a variant of Nexavar tablets, which Onyx and Bayer co-develop and market. The company said fluoro-sorafenib has the same chemical structure as Nexavar except that fluoro-sorafenib contains a fluorine atom instead of a hydrogen atom.
"The new molecule had been identified in 1998 during the research collaboration period by the companies' joint research teams," Onyx said in a statement. "Discussions with Bayer regarding Onyx's rights to fluoro-sorafenib under the companies' 1994 collaboration agreement were not productive."
Doctors use Nexavar to treat advanced kidney cancer and liver cancer. Onyx and Bayer co-developed Nexavar and have marketed the drug in the United States and other countries.
Bayer said it disagrees with Onyx.
"We plan to defend ourselves against the complaint as we believe that Onyx has no rights to the substance," Bayer said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
Onyx's lawsuit seeks a declaration that fluoro-sorafenib is a jointly owned collaboration compound under an agreement between Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Bayer.
Onyx said it learned that the compound is a variant of Nexavar tablets, which Onyx and Bayer co-develop and market. The company said fluoro-sorafenib has the same chemical structure as Nexavar except that fluoro-sorafenib contains a fluorine atom instead of a hydrogen atom.
"The new molecule had been identified in 1998 during the research collaboration period by the companies' joint research teams," Onyx said in a statement. "Discussions with Bayer regarding Onyx's rights to fluoro-sorafenib under the companies' 1994 collaboration agreement were not productive."
Doctors use Nexavar to treat advanced kidney cancer and liver cancer. Onyx and Bayer co-developed Nexavar and have marketed the drug in the United States and other countries.
Bayer said it disagrees with Onyx.
"We plan to defend ourselves against the complaint as we believe that Onyx has no rights to the substance," Bayer said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters.
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