For the second time in nine months, a Delaware judge has sided (PDF) with Syntimmune shareholders over AstraZeneca, granting a $181 million award.
The decision comes on top of a $130 million judgment issued in September of last year.
The case involves a former Syntimmune drug developed to treat myasthenia gravis and other IgG-mediated diseases. It was the crown jewel of Alexion’s 2018 buyout of Syntimmune for $1.2 billion, which included $800 million in potential post-deal milestone payments.
Soon after the acquisition, two phase 1 trials were paused because of contamination of the drug supply. After that, AstraZeneca in 2020 inked its $39 billion takeover of Alexion.
In December of 2021, after more delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AZ scrapped Syntimmune’s drug, an FcRn inhibitor which Alexion had dubbed ALXN1830. In doing so, AZ cited preliminary data that raised safety concerns about the drug and concluded that it lacked the potential to be commercialized.
Syntimmune shareholders filed their original lawsuit in 2020, just days after AZ announced its acquisition of Alexion, arguing that one early-stage trial milestone, valued at $130 million, had been met. Last year, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn agreed with the shareholders and awarded the full payment.
The shareholders’ additional claim was that AZ breached Alexion and Syntimmune’s merger agreement by halting the development of ALXN1830.
In her 65-page decision on Thursday, Zurn concluded that Alexion breached its “obligation to use CREs” (commercially reasonable efforts) to develop the drug.
Added to the award will be pre- and post-judgment interest, which will be calculated by the parties.