Acuitas has No Further Rights to Use or Sublicense Arbutus LNP Technology
Arbutus Consolidates LNP Patent Estate Enabling RNAi, mRNA, and Gene-editing Therapeutics
VANCOUVER, B.C. and WARMINSTER, Pa., Feb. 22, 2018 -- Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq:ABUS), an industry-leading hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapeutic solutions company, today announced that litigation initiated by Acuitas Therapeutics on October 25, 2016 in the Supreme Court of British Columbia has been settled before trial. The litigation centered on Acuitas’ rights to use and sublicense Arbutus pre-April 15, 2010 LNP technology under a cross license agreement dated November 12, 2012. On February 7, 2017, Arbutus obtained an injunction preventing Acuitas from further providing Arbutus LNP technology to any third party.
“This settlement terminates Acuitas’ right to use or sublicense our LNP technology going forward, making permanent the effect of the Court’s prior injunction,” said Dr. Mark J Murray, Arbutus President and CEO. “Arbutus LNP represents the most clinically validated delivery technology suitable for RNAi, mRNA therapeutics and gene editing applications. With the settlement of the Acuitas litigation, Arbutus has now consolidated its LNP intellectual property estate. This is a major milestone which establishes Arbutus as the owner and only source of this industry-leading technology platform with the ability to develop a full range of applications.”
The settlement stipulates that the four non-exclusive viral vaccine sublicenses previously granted to Moderna are the only sublicenses to survive. These four sublicenses, previously granted by Acuitas to Moderna under the pre-April 15, 2010 Arbutus LNP patent families, are each limited to a specific viral target. Moderna has no other rights to Arbutus’ broad suite of LNP intellectual property.
About Arbutus Biopharma
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing, and commercializing a cure for patients suffering from chronic HBV infection. For more information, please visit www.arbutusbio.com.
Contact Information
Investors
Tiffany Tolmie
Manager, Investor Relations
Phone: 604-419-3200
Email: [email protected]
Media
David Schull
Russo Partners
Phone: 858-717-2310
Email: [email protected]


OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra With Advanced AI Agent Capabilities
Honda Targets $9.4 Billion in Cost Cuts as China EV Competition Intensifies
Fast Retailing Shares Drop as Uniqlo Japan August Sales Fall
Lynas Rare Earths Shares Rise After Takeover Talks Revealed
MongoDB Stock Sinks 14% as Atlas Growth Misses Expectations
Microsoft to Reveal Azure Revenue in Major Reporting Shake-Up
US Tech Giants’ AI Bond Boom Raises Euro Zone Borrowing Risks
BP Names Ian Tyler Permanent Chairman After Governance Shake-Up
Adobe Names Anil Chakravarthy CEO as AI Push Accelerates
GSM Eyes US, Europe Expansion Ahead of 2028 Hong Kong IPO
ByteDance Secures $29.6 Billion Loan to Boost AI Investment
Audi, SAIC Launch China Innovation Hub for New AUDI Models
South Korea, US Discuss Chip Investments Amid Tariff Plans
CATL Shares Fall as Hungary Plant Faces Safety Halt
Xiaomi Shares Jump on Europe EV Expansion Plan
Nvidia Eyes $2.5 Billion Investment in Thinking Machines Lab 



