BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – A nonprofit headquartered in Boston focusing on cancer treatment for children and adults alleges patents it co-owns with other companies have been exploited.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc. filed a complaint on June 21 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., E.R. Squibb & Sons LLC and Ono Pharmaceutical Co LTD alleging unjust enrichment, tortious interference with prospective business relations and unfair trade practices.
The suit concerns patents co-owned by the plaintiff relating to methods of cancer immunotherapy. The plaintiff alleges it has been denied co-ownership of patents by the defendants and that the defendants have held themselves as the patents' exclusive owners. The plaintiff alleges the defendants have sued competitors over allegations of patent infringement and received more than $1.6 million in licensing revenue.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants' actions have deprived it of the opportunity to grant royalty-bearing licenses, thus robbing the plaintiff of the revenue and unfairly seizing it for themselves.
The plaintiff is seeking monetary damages, attorneys’ fees, court costs and other relief deemed fit. The plaintiff is represented by Donald R. Ware, Barbara A. Fiacco, Sarah S. Burg, Michael Hoven and Emma Winer of Foley Hoag LLP in Boston.
U.S. District Court of Massachusetts case number 1:19-CV-11380