Updated version 1 - Liquidia settles with United Therapeutics Corporation, litigation risk removed, driving stock price surge

Updated stock price data in the first paragraph, rewritten headline

Reuters, October 14 - In pre-market trading on Wednesday, Liquidia (LQDA.O) shares soared nearly 37% after the pharmaceutical company resolved a years-long legal dispute with United Therapeutics (UTHR.O) regarding its pulmonary disease drug.

The settlement, announced Tuesday evening, ends six lawsuits surrounding Liquidia’s drug Yutrepia (a dry powder inhaled formulation of treprostinil), covering patent, trade secret, contract, and antitrust allegations.

Yutrepia is approved to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension due to interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD), and competes against United Therapeutics’ Tyvaso in the market.

As part of the settlement, Liquidia will halt promotion of its PH-ILD treatment but will continue selling its PAH drug. Additionally, the company will pay United Therapeutics about $380.7 million in installments by 2027.

“We expect to make these payments through ongoing sales of Yutrepia and our current cash on hand,” said Chief Financial Officer Michael Kaseta.

The settlement eliminates a major legal risk for Liquidia— after an adverse court ruling last month, the company’s stock had plummeted by more than half (link); it also eases competitive pressure on United Therapeutics’ Tyvaso.

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Jefferies analyst Manoj Eradath said, “With the legal overhang resolved, we now primarily view Liquidia as a Yutrepia growth story within the PAH field, powered by label expansion and significant R&D pipeline opportunities from L606.”

L606 is an experimental pulmonary disease drug from Liquidia currently in late-stage development.

Liquidia stated it will not appeal the ruling and has requested the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove PH-ILD from Yutrepia’s approved indications.

JPMorgan analyst Jessica Fye noted that while the outcome meets investor expectations, the approximately $380 million payment amount is “better than expected” for United Therapeutics.

Jefferies analyst Roger Song said the settlement could improve market visibility on the future growth prospects of Tyvaso in PH-ILD.

United Therapeutics stated in regulatory filings that as part of the settlement, Liquidia will terminate its PH-ILD study group and stop releasing related data.

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