Johnson & Johnson and Alkermes are trying to reach an agreement after months of arguing over drug delivery technology use.
The two companies have now begun arbitration in an attempt to reach a settlement over J&J's use of Alkermes' drug delivery technology. The NanoCrystal technology stabilizes drugs into nanometer-sized particles, which helps deliver poorly soluble compounds into oral, injectable and even inhaled drugs.
Alkermes is arguing that the technology was used to develop Invega, a long-acting injectable meant to treat schizophrenia. While Alkermes received $192 million in royalty revenues related to the drug, J&J is saying that these products don’t use the technology protected by their licensing agreement and moved to terminate the deal last November.
When the termination started going into effect this February, Alkermes made it clear that the company would do everything in its power to prevent the original deal from falling apart.
While the two companies reach a new agreement, Alkermes is no longer receiving royalties from Invega products in the U.S.