PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA — INOVIO Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: INO) has secured an $80.4 million court judgment against two former manufacturing partners in a Pennsylvania contract dispute, although the biotechnology company warned that the defendants’ financial condition could prevent it from collecting some or all of the award.
The Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County entered judgment in INOVIO’s favor last week on all claims against VGXI Inc. and GeneOne Life Science Inc., according to the Plymouth Meeting-based company.
The award totals $80,416,101, including $61,750,789 in compensatory damages and $18,665,312 in legal fees and costs.
The court also entered judgment against VGXI and GeneOne on their counterclaims, resolving those claims in INOVIO’s favor.
The dispute stems from a supply agreement governing the manufacturing of DNA plasmids, a critical component of INOVIO’s experimental DNA-based medicines.
INOVIO filed the lawsuit June 3, 2020, alleging that VGXI and GeneOne breached the agreement by refusing to fulfill contractual obligations involving the transfer of manufacturing technology.
The company maintained that the technology transfer was necessary to enable scalable production of DNA plasmids used in its drug development programs.
The judgment represents a substantial legal recovery on paper, but INOVIO cautioned that collecting the award remains uncertain.
“Defendants’ financial condition will likely impair INOVIO’s ability to collect some or all of the judgment,” the company stated.
INOVIO intends to pursue recovery through what it described as every reasonable effort, although the amount ultimately recoverable remains uncertain.
The distinction between the judgment and potential collections is significant because the court’s award does not establish that INOVIO will receive the full $80.4 million.
INOVIO develops DNA-based medicines targeting diseases associated with human papillomavirus, cancer and infectious diseases.
The manufacturing dispute centered on technology needed to produce the DNA plasmids that serve as a foundation for the company’s therapeutic platform.
The litigation, captioned INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. VGXI, Inc. and GeneOne Life Science, Inc., was filed under case number 2020-06554 in Montgomery County.
Cooley LLP and FBT Gibbons represented INOVIO as trial counsel.
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