Ariad is "disappointed" by patent lawsuit rulings

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said today that it plans to pursue the "appropriate legal action" after a federal judge ruled against it in a patent dispute.

In April 2007, Dow Jones reported that Ariad sued Amgen Inc. and Wyeth alleging the companies infringed its patents covering treatments regulating certain cell-signaling activity. Ariad filed the claim in response to a suit brought by Amgen that seeks to invalidate an Ariad patent. Ariad's claim relates to Amgen's Enbrel and Kineret drugs.

Today Ariad said that a federal judge in the US District Court of Delaware granted Amgen's motion for summary judgment of noninfringement of seven claims of a US patent based on activities related to Enbrel.

"We are disappointed by these rulings on claim construction and noninfringment, and plan to pursue the appropriate legal action to obtain review of the rulings," Harvey J. Berger, chairman and chief executive of Ariad, said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)