UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): January 7,
2011
PDL
BioPharma, Inc.
(Exact
name of Company as specified in its charter)
000-19756
(Commission
File Number)
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Delaware
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94-3023969
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(State
or Other Jurisdiction of
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(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
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Incorporation)
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932
Southwood Boulevard
Incline
Village, Nevada 89451
(Address
of principal executive offices, with zip code)
(775)
832-8500
(Company’s
telephone number, including area code)
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the Company under any of the following
provisions:
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Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
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Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
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Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))
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¨
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Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c))
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Item
8.01 Other Events.
Court
Issues Decisions on Summary Judgment Motions in MedImmune, LLC v. PDL BioPharma,
Inc.
On
January 7, 2011, the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California issued an order deciding on summary judgment certain issues in the
litigation between MedImmune, LLC (“MedImmune”) and
PDL BioPharma, Inc. (“PDL”). The court ruled that: (i) the sole patent claim
asserted in the litigation to support the basis that MedImmune’s product
Synagis® infringes PDL’s patent rights, claim 28 of Queen et al., United States
Patent No. 6,180,370, is invalid as anticipated by a prior art patent; (ii)
MedImmune did not breach its obligations under its license agreement with PDL by
failing to pay royalties on sales of Synagis by its exclusive ex-US distributor,
Abbott Laboratories; (iii) MedImmune is not entitled to recoup from PDL
royalties on sales of Synagis that MedImmune paid on European patent rights that
were ultimately revoked; and (iv) issues of fact require a jury trial to decide
PDL’s claim that MedImmune breached the license agreement by requiring that PDL
consent to commercially unreasonable and contractually insupportable conditions
to permit an independent audit of Synagis sales and revenue. Claim
28, the sole patent claim at issue in the litigation with MedImmune, does not
cover currently marketed Genentech/Roche products.
A jury
trial that was scheduled to commence in January 2011 was vacated by the court in
December 2010. A new trial date is expected to be set shortly.
PDL
disagrees with important aspects of the court’s adverse decisions and is
evaluating its legal options, including appeal.
In the
event that MedImmune prevails on its most favored licensee claim in the
litigation, PDL expects that MedImmune will request the court to order a
recoupment of some or all of the payments made to PDL under its license to the
Queen et al. patents. MedImmune has paid PDL more than $280 million in royalties
under the MedImmune agreement with respect to sales of Synagis since the fourth
quarter of 1998 through the fourth quarter of 2009.
On
January 10, 2011, PDL issued a press release announcing the above decision. The
press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by
reference.
Item
9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d)
Exhibits.
Exhibit
No.
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Description
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99.1
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Press
Release, dated January 10, 2011
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Company has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.
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PDL
BIOPHARMA, INC. |
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(Company) |
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By:
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/s/ Christopher
Stone |
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Christopher
Stone |
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Vice
President, General Counsel and Secretary |
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Dated: January
10, 2011
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
No.
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Description
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99.1
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Press
Release, dated January 10, 2011
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