Jury Finds Lilly Breached License Agreement, Awards Nektar $90M
LLY sits 66% above its 52-week low of $712.05.
Summary
A jury found Eli Lilly breached the implied covenant of good faith in a license agreement with Nektar Therapeutics, awarding Nektar $90 million in damages plus interest. Nektar had sought $1 billion in damages; Lilly said the jury confirmed its commercially reasonable efforts and awarded only a small fraction. Nektar shares gained 5% following the verdict. The verdict is subject to post-trial proceedings and possible appeal. This is a material legal setback for Lilly, though the damages are modest relative to its market cap. The case stems from a licensing dispute, and the outcome could affect future collaboration terms. Watch for post-trial motions and any appeal decision.
Updated with a Reuters report · What changed
Updates
· Reuters — Nektar had sought $1 billion in damages; Lilly said the jury confirmed its commercially reasonable efforts and awarded only a small fraction.
At the time of this announcement, LLY was trading at $1,183.00 on NYSE in the Life Sciences sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.1T. The 52-week trading range was $712.05 to $1,292.65. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Reuters.