Actelion provides update on judgment in Asahi Kasei litigation
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Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd /
Actelion provides update on judgment in Asahi Kasei litigation
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ALLSCHWIL/BASEL, SWITZERLAND - 24 October 2011 - Actelion (SIX: ATLN) today
announced that, regarding the Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. v. Actelion Ltd. et al.
(case number CIV 478533, Superior Court of the State of California, County of
San Mateo), the court has granted Actelion's motion for a new trial on
compensatory damages unless Asahi consents, by 10 November 2011, to a reduction
of the jury award by a further USD 99.2 million, thus respecting - in part - a
request that Asahi make an election between damages for alleged lost profits or
alleged development costs. Any such new trial would only address compensatory
damages.
If Asahi accepts this proposal - and when combined with the court's 29 July
2011 reduction of USD 70.35 million - the court's final award would be USD
407.325 million including punitive damages of USD 30 million against certain
individual officers of the company.
The court considered a number of motions filed by both parties and denied almost
all motions, including a motion from Asahi for a new trial on punitive damages.
The company and its external advisors continue to believe that the jury verdict
and the trial court's judgment are neither supported by the facts nor correct as
a matter of law. The company is therefore confident that there are significant
grounds for a successful appeal, notice of which will be filed with the
California Courts of Appeal in due course.
About Actelion's provisions
Actelion recorded a provision of USD 577 million (CHF 485.2 million) in the
second quarter financial statements. On 29 July 2011, Actelion announced that
the court had granted Actelion's post-trial motion for the offset of a previous
arbitration payment and applied a reduction of USD 70.35 million to the 4 May
2011 jury award of USD 577 million. As a result, the provision was adjusted in
the third quarter financial statements to reflect the CHF 430.2 million judgment
amount as entered by the court. The provision will be adjusted further in the
Full Year financial statements to reflect any final award.
###
Notes to the Editor
About the complaint
On 19 November, 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.
About the jury verdict, judgment and the upcoming appeal
On 4 May 2011 a jury awarded Asahi Kasei Pharma ("Asahi") up to USD 547 million
in compensatory damages (358.95 million in alleged lost profits and 187.4
million for alleged development costs). In addition, the jury awarded punitive
damages of USD 30 million against certain individual officers of the company.
In May 2011, Actelion filed motions 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.
On 28 July 2011 the court granted Actelion's post-trial motion for offset of a
previous arbitration payment and applied a reduction of USD 70.35 million to the
4 May jury award. On procedural grounds, the court denied Actelion's post-trial
motion for an election between damages for alleged lost profits and alleged
development costs indicating that the appropriate time for such an issue to be
considered is after judgment has been entered.
Following entry of judgment in August 2011, Actelion filed several motions,
including one asking for an election between damages for alleged lost profits or
alleged development costs.
The company and its external advisors believe that the jury verdict and trial
court judgment are neither supported by the facts nor correct as a matter of
law. The company is therefore confident that there are significant grounds for a
successful appeal, notice of which will be filed with the California Courts of
Appeal in due course.
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 2,500 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®).
For further information please 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
www.actelion.com
--- End of Message ---
Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Gewerbestrasse 16 Allschwil Switzerland
ISIN: CH0010532478;
Press Release PDF:
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Source: Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1557087]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 24.10.2011 - 07:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 79082
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contact information:
Town:
Allschwil
Kategorie:
Business News
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