Chiron Wins Vaccine Patent Dispute

Chiron Corp. said the European Patent Office revoked a patent issued to Medeva’s Evans Medical Ltd. that had threatened the sale of one of Chiron’s vaccines. The patent office found that an Evans patent on a component included in Chiron’s new whooping cough vaccine is “not valid,” Chiron said. The vaccine is part of a new, safer generation of whooping cough treatments known as acellular pertussis vaccines. Emeryville-based Chiron was facing lawsuits as Evans and SmithKline Beecham, which licensed the patent from Evans, tried to protect the patent and SmithKline’s market position. Chiron said the ruling in effect ends litigation in Italy, Britain and the Netherlands. A SmithKline spokesman said the British drug maker will continue to market its own version of the acellular pertussis vaccine, part of a combination vaccine known as Infanrix. In a separate development, Chiron said it sued SmithKline in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claiming its hepatitis-B vaccine violates Chiron’s U.S. patent on the world’s first genetically engineered vaccine. The suit seeks damages and a permanent injunction to halt SmithKline from selling the product. Officials at SmithKline were not immediately available to comment on the suit. Chiron shares rose 19 cents to close at $21 on Nasdaq.