Halozyme wins court order to block Merck's injected Keytruda in select European markets

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Biopharma company Halozyme said on Wednesday that a Dutch patent court ruled in its favor against Merck, ordering the drugmaker to halt the manufacture and sale of injectable Keytruda in eight European markets.

Here are some details:

• Halozyme said a specialized Dutch patent court in The Hague found that Merck had infringed one of its patents covering MDASE, Halozyme's technology for rapid, high-volume under-the-skin drug delivery.

• The court ordered Merck to stop the production and sale of injectable Keytruda in Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

• The drugmaker has been counting on the simpler-to-use subcutaneous version of the drug, known as Keytruda SC, to help drive growth as key patents on its original intravenous version expire later in the decade.

• "We strongly disagree with the Dutch court's decision to grant a cross-border injunction. We consider Halozyme's patent to be invalid globally and its allegation of infringement to be without merit," a Merck spokesperson said in a statement.

• The company said it is evaluating next steps.

• Halozyme has also sued Merck for patent infringement in the US, alleging the under-the-skin formulation of Keytruda infringes 15 patents that Halozyme has filed since 2011.

• The company sued Merck in Germany and was granted a preliminary injunction last year, stopping Merck's launch of Keytruda SC in Germany.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)