Judge Rules Against HHS Attempt to Stop Gilead Sciences’ Counterclaims for HIV Patents

A federal judge in Delaware has ruled that the U.S. government can’t block a lawsuit by Gilead Sciences, which asserts that four HHS patents for HIV drugs are invalid.

In an initial lawsuit, HHS alleged that HIV drugs developed by Gilead infringe on its patents, including for Truvada (emtricitabine/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide). But Gilead argues in a counter-lawsuit that data used to develop the drugs came from a collaboration with HHS and that the federal government had not disclosed that it was seeking the patents.

The ruling last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware allows the company’s countersuit to go ahead.