Legal Matters

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Legal Matters

Legal matters

We are engaged in a dispute with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., or Daiichi Sankyo, regarding the ownership of certain technology used by Daiichi Sankyo in its metastatic breast cancer drug ENHERTU and certain product candidates. We believe that the linker and other ADC technology used in ENHERTU and these drug candidates are improvements to our ADC technology, the ownership of which we contend was assigned to us under the terms of a 2008 collaboration agreement between us and Daiichi Sankyo. On November 4, 2019, Daiichi Sankyo filed a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging that we are not entitled to the intellectual property rights under dispute, in an attempt to have the case heard in federal court. On November 12, 2019, we submitted an arbitration demand to the American Arbitration Association seeking, among other remedies, a declaration that we are the owner of the intellectual property rights under dispute, monetary damages, and a running royalty. On March 25, 2020, a District of Delaware magistrate judge issued a stay of Daiichi Sankyo’s court action pending determination by the arbitrator of whether the suit should be heard in court or arbitration. On April 8, 2020, Daiichi Sankyo filed objections to the magistrate judge’s order. On October 27, 2020, the presiding District Court Judge overruled Daiichi Sankyo's objections and affirmed the magistrate judge's stay of the Daiichi Sankyo court action. On April 27, 2020, the arbitrator confirmed the dispute should be resolved in arbitration and that the arbitration process should progress.

Separately from the on-going arbitration against Daiichi Sankyo described above, on October 19, 2020, we filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to commence an action for infringement of our U.S. Patent No. 10,808,039, or the '039 Patent, by Daiichi Sankyo’s importation into, offer for sale, sale, and use in the United States of ENHERTU. This action is seeking, among other remedies, a judgment that Daiichi Sankyo infringed one or more valid and enforceable claims of the '039 Patent, monetary damages and a running royalty.

As a result of these disputes, we have incurred and will continue to incur litigation expenses. In addition, from time to time, we may become involved in other lawsuits, claims and proceedings relating to the conduct of our business, including those pertaining to the defense and enforcement of our patent or other intellectual property rights and our contractual rights. These proceedings are costly and time consuming, and they may subject us to claims which may result in liabilities or require us to take or refrain from certain actions. Additionally, successful challenges to our patent or other intellectual property rights through these proceedings could result in a loss of rights in the relevant jurisdiction and may allow third parties to use our proprietary technologies without a license from us or our collaborators.