In one of the first significant judgments of the year, the Court of Appeal has reversed the trial judge (Richards J.) and found for the defendant Tesaro (now owned by GSK) in a world-wide licensing dispute with AstraZeneca. The issue between the parties was whether the licences entered into required Tesaro to pay a royalty for every sale of its anti-cancer drug Zejula, or only for sales which infringe the patents licensed to AstraZeneca by the University of Sheffield and the Institute of Cancer Research. Whilst the judge at first instance found for AstraZeneca, the Court of Appeal (King, Birss & Arnold LJJ) has allowed Tesaro’s appeal.

In these proceedings Tom Mitcheson KC has been representing Tesaro and Katherine Moggridge has been representing AstraZeneca.

See the full judgment here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2024/78.html