Actelion to appeal final Jury verdict in Asahi Kasei litigation
Actelion (SIX: ATLN) commented on the verdict issued in regard to Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. v. Actelion Ltd. et al. (case number CIV 478533, Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo).
- (1888PressRelease) May 05, 2011 - Case in which the jury awarded Asahi Kasei Pharma ("Asahi") up to USD 547 million in compensatory damages. In addition, the jury awarded punitive damages of USD 30 million against certain individual officers of the company.
Actelion has filed a motion for a required election of remedies and an off-set. This motion could result in a substantial reduction in compensatory damages.
Specifically, the motion is asking for an election between damages of USD 358.95 million for alleged lost profits or USD 187.4 million in alleged development costs.
In addition, from either amount the motion is asking for the deduction (off-set) of USD 78.4 million from a previous payment related to arbitration proceedings in 2009.
Actelion is disappointed with the jury decision. The company believes that the ruling is neither supported by the facts nor is it correct as a matter of law. The company will file appropriate further post-trial motions and will appeal the entire judgment.
About the complaint
On November 19, 2008, plaintiff Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation ("Asahi") filed a complaint at the State Court in California, US, against Actelion Ltd and its subsidiaries Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc., Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Actelion US Holding Company, CoTherix, Inc. ("CoTherix") and three individual officers. The action arises from a dispute involving the license and development agreement between Asahi and CoTherix for the drug compound fasudil that has been terminated upon the acquisition of CoTherix in 2007.
Actelion's AGM
Actelion's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders approving the Business Report of the year ending 31 December 2010 will be held on 5 May 2011.
Actelion Ltd.
Actelion Ltd is a biopharmaceutical company with its corporate headquarters in Allschwil/Basel, Switzerland. Actelion's first drug Tracleer®, an orally available dual endothelin receptor antagonist, has been approved as a therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Actelion markets Tracleer® through its own subsidiaries in key markets worldwide, including the United States (based in South San Francisco), the European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. Actelion, founded in late 1997, is a leading player in innovative science related to the endothelium - the single layer of cells separating every blood vessel from the blood stream. Actelion's over 2,400 employees focus on the discovery, development and marketing of innovative drugs for significant unmet medical needs. Actelion shares are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: ATLN) as part of the Swiss blue-chip index SMI (Swiss Market Index SMI®).
Contact:
Roland Haefeli
Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Public Affairs
Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Gewerbestrasse 16, CH-4123 Allschwil
+41 61 565 62 62
+1 650 624 69 36
The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company's investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company's existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.
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