Drug Patents May Not Bar Rival Research After Merck v. Integra, Morgan Lewis on Life Sciences
August/September 2005

In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the long-awaited ruling on the dispute between Merck KGaA and Integra Life Sciences Holdings Corp. over the unlicensed use of patented compounds in research and development. While the Supreme Court affirmed the position that many drug developers had adopted years ago — that they are free to use patented compounds in development without a license — it also extended this right upstream from clinical development to earlier-stage research, while at the same time expressly avoiding any discussion about the application of the exemption to “research tools.”

For the full story, please view the PDF.