Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ: LQDA) (Liquidia or the Company),
announced today that United Therapeutics Corporation (UTHR) filed a
patent infringement action under the Hatch-Waxman Act in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Delaware (District Court)
asserting infringement of U.S. patent No. 10,716,793 (‘793 patent)
in response to Liquidia’s amendment to add the PH-ILD indication to
the tentatively approved New Drug Application (NDA) for YUTREPIA™
(treprostinil) inhalation powder. The ‘793 patent was previously
found to be unpatentable by the PTAB in an inter partes review
(IPR) in July 2022, a decision that was reaffirmed by the PTAB in
February 2023.
Dr. Roger Jeffs, Chief Executive Officer of
Liquidia, said: “Our focus is and will always be on bringing better
therapies and treatment options to patients. While we are
disappointed that United Therapeutics has elected to file this
lawsuit alleging that YUTREPIA infringes this same patent that has
already been litigated and already found by the PTAB to be invalid,
it was expected. We will use the same aggressive and dedicated
approach to defending this lawsuit as we have used in successfully
resolving prior litigation that has been brought against us by
United Therapeutics.”
The ‘793 patent asserted in this litigation will
trigger and support an automatic regulatory stay on the FDA’s final
approval of YUTREPIA. The regulatory stay for final approval
would last until the earlier of either (1) resolution of the
lawsuit in Liquidia’s favor with respect to the ‘793 patent, or (2)
30 months after the date in July 2023 when United Therapeutics
received notice of Liquidia’s Paragraph IV certifications in
connection with the amendment to the NDA.
In the prior lawsuit in which the ‘793 patent was
asserted against Liquidia, the District Court ruled against
Liquidia in August 2022 finding that all of the asserted claims of
the ‘793 patent were both valid and infringed based on the
arguments presented by Liquidia to the District Court. That
decision was recently affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit). However, if the Federal Circuit
affirms the PTAB’s decision in the ‘793 IPR currently under appeal,
then the entire ‘793 patent would be invalidated and the ‘793
patent would no longer be a barrier to final approval of YUTREPIA.
The appeal of the PTAB decision is expected to be completed in the
fourth quarter of 2023 or the first half of 2024.
About YUTREPIA™ (treprostinil) inhalation
powder
YUTREPIA is an investigational, inhaled dry powder
formulation of treprostinil delivered through a convenient,
low-resistance, palm-sized device. On November 5, 2021, the FDA
issued a tentative approval for YUTREPIA, which is indicated for
the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to improve
exercise ability in adult patients with New York Heart Association
(NYHA) Functional Class II-III symptoms. The FDA has confirmed that
YUTREPIA may add the indication to treat pulmonary hypertension
with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) without additional clinical
studies. YUTREPIA was designed using Liquidia’s PRINT® technology,
which enables the development of drug particles that are precise
and uniform in size, shape, and composition, and that are
engineered for enhanced deposition in the lung following oral
inhalation. Liquidia has completed INSPIRE, or Investigation of the
Safety and Pharmacology of Dry Powder Inhalation of Treprostinil,
an open-label, multi-center phase 3 clinical study of YUTREPIA in
patients diagnosed with PAH who are naïve to inhaled treprostinil
or who are transitioning from Tyvaso® (nebulized treprostinil).
YUTREPIA was previously referred to as LIQ861 in investigational
studies.
About pulmonary arterial hypertension
(PAH)
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare,
chronic, progressive disease caused by hardening and narrowing of
the pulmonary arteries that can lead to right heart failure and
eventually death. Currently, an estimated 45,000 patients are
diagnosed and treated in the United States. There is currently no
cure for PAH, so the goals of existing treatments are to alleviate
symptoms, maintain or improve functional class, delay disease
progression, and improve quality of life.
About pulmonary hypertension associated
with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD)
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with
interstitial lung disease (ILD) includes a diverse collection of up
to 150 different pulmonary diseases, including interstitial
pulmonary fibrosis, chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis,
connective tissue disease related ILD, and chronic pulmonary
fibrosis with emphysema (CPFE) among others. Any level of PH in ILD
patients is associated with poor 3-year survival. A current
estimate of PH-ILD prevalence in the United States is greater than
60,000 patients, though population growth in many of these
underlying ILD diseases is not yet known due to factors including
underdiagnosis and lack of approved treatments until March 2021,
when inhaled treprostinil was first approved for this
indication.
About Liquidia Corporation
Liquidia Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on the development and commercialization of products in
pulmonary hypertension and other applications of its PRINT®
Technology. The company operates through its two wholly owned
subsidiaries, Liquidia Technologies, Inc. and Liquidia PAH, LLC.
Liquidia Technologies has developed YUTREPIA™ (treprostinil)
inhalation powder for the treatment of pulmonary arterial
hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with
interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD). Liquidia Technologies is also
developing L606, an investigational liposomal formulation of
treprostinil administered twice-daily with a short-duration
next-generation nebulizer, for use in North America. Liquidia PAH
provides the commercialization for pharmaceutical products to treat
pulmonary disease, such as generic Treprostinil Injection. For more
information, please visit www.liquidia.com.
Cautionary Statements Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release
other than statements of historical facts, including statements
regarding our future results of operations and financial position,
our strategic and financial initiatives, our business strategy and
plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements, including statements
regarding clinical trials, clinical studies and other clinical work
(including the funding therefor, anticipated patient enrollment,
safety data, study data, trial outcomes, timing or associated
costs), regulatory applications and related submission contents and
timelines, including the potential for final FDA approval of the
NDA for YUTREPIA, the timeline or outcome related to patent
litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
or inter partes review proceedings conducted at the PTAB, including
any appeals of decisions in any such proceedings, the issuance of
patents by the USPTO and our ability to execute on our strategic or
financial initiatives, involve significant risks and uncertainties
and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or
implied herein. The favorable decisions of the PTAB in the IPR for
the ’793 patent and of the Court and CAFC in the Hatch-Waxman
litigation are not determinative of the outcome of any appeal of
those decisions. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,”
“could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,”
“potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “would,” and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely
on our current expectations and projections about future events and
financial trends that we believe may affect our financial
condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and
long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs.
These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks
discussed in our filings with the SEC, including the impact of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on our Company and our financial
condition and results of operations, as well as a number of
uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in a very
competitive and rapidly changing environment and our industry has
inherent risks. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not
possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess
the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which
any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and
assumptions, the future events discussed in this press release may
not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely
from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking
statements. Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a
representation by any person that these goals will be achieved, and
we undertake no duty to update our goals or to update or alter any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
Contact Information for Media &
InvestorsJason AdairChief Business
Officer919.328.4400jason.adair@liquidia.com
Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2025 to Feb 2025
Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Feb 2025