Kyowa Hakko Kirin and BioWa successfully enforce patent rights on antibody technology

Client(s) Kyowa Hakko Kirin Company, Limited

Jones Day, on behalf of Japanese life sciences company Kyowa Hakko Kirin Company, Limited ("KHK") and its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, BioWa, successfully settled a patent infringement suit over three of KHK's patents that underlie KHK's award-winning POTELLIGENT® technology capable of producing therapeutic antibodies with dramatically improved potency and efficacy. In October 2016, KHK and BioWa, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Aragen Bioscience, Inc. and Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. for willfully infringing KHK's patents. In March 2018, with a jury trial approaching, Jones Day successfully negotiated a settlement of the infringement suit. As a result of the settlement, Aragen and Transposagen made a confidential payment to KHK to resolve the dispute, agreed the patents were valid and enforceable, and agreed to exit the relevant business and destroy any infringing cell lines or materials.

Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. et al. v. Aragen Bioscience, Inc. et al., Case No. 3-16-cv-05993-JD (N.D. Cal.) (Judge Donato)