Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. Merck & Co., Inc.

Taranto, Circuit Judge.

*1233 This case involves two patents relating to treatments for Hepatitis C. Merck & Co., Inc. and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) collaborated on research in the area and eventually obtained U.S. Patent Nos. 7,105,499 and 8,481,712. The patents, whose specifications are materially the same for present purposes, describe and claim classes of compounds, identified by structural formulas, and the administration of therapeutically effective amounts of such compounds. Gilead Sciences, Inc., developed its own Hepatitis C treatments-marketed now…