Fenwick Secures Chancery Court Victory for AnaptysBio in Licensing Dispute

Fenwick is proud to have represented AnaptysBio in securing a significant victory before the Delaware Chancery Court that preserves AnaptysBio’s royalty rights and rejects an attempt to reduce those payments, amid an ongoing life sciences licensing dispute brought by Tesaro, Inc. (a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline).

The dispute arises from a collaboration and exclusive license agreement covering Jemperli, a cancer therapy. Under the agreement, Anaptys is entitled to royalties on product sales. Tesaro alleged that Anaptys had anticipatorily breached the contract, claiming Anaptys acted in a way that suggested it would not meet its obligations.

The court rejected that claim, granting Anaptys’ motion to dismiss and finding that Tesaro’s allegations were not adequately supported as a matter of law. This result highlights Fenwick’s strength in handling complex life sciences licensing disputes, where high-value royalty streams and critical collaboration agreements are often at stake.

AnaptysBio was represented by Fenwick patent litigation partners Robert Counihan and Vanessa Park-Thompson, and associate Nicholas Klenow.