Delaware Chancery revisits billion-dollar lost profits claim in ‘PharmAthene’

PharmAthene, Inc. v. SIGA Technologies, Inc., 2014 Del. Ch. LEXIS 142 (Aug. 8, 2014) 

When their collaboration went sour, two pharmaceutical companies involved in developing a promising antiviral drug embarked on a court fight that is now in its eighth year, with no immediate end in sight. The stakes are high with the plaintiff seeking expectation damages of over $1 billion.

Following the parties’ appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court, the case returned to the Delaware Court of Chancery for an assessment of contractual damages. The Chancery considered the remand an invitation to re-evaluate the damages model the plaintiff’s expert had offered earlier and which the court then rejected. In re-examining the issue of whether the plaintiff could meet the “reasonable certainty” requirement to justify a lump-sum lost profits award, the court also considered post-trial developments surrounding the drug.

Find out more about the case here.