InterMune sued by partner Shionogi over Esbriet royalties in Europe

Intermune Inc. said it has been sued by Shionogi & Co. over royalties and license payments related to clinical trials of pirfenidone.

Brisbane-based Intermune (NASDAQ: ITMN) said Shionogi's complaint alleges that Intermune broke an agreement between the companies by using some of Shionogi's proprietary information in a regulatory application with the European Medicines Agency and then failing to pay royalties on sales of the drug there.