Liquidia Corporation (NASDAQ: LQDA) shares plunged 57.19% to $30.26 in Wednesday’s regular trading after a federal judge ruled that YUTREPIA infringed two valid United Therapeutics patent claims covering the treatment of PH-ILD.
The ruling dealt a legal setback to Liquidia, but it did not order YUTREPIA off the market. The court has not yet entered the final remedy, and the parties were directed to submit proposed forms of judgment within one week.
Trading volume reached about 22.4 million shares, compared with an average volume of roughly 1.39 million shares, according to Yahoo Finance.
Two Surviving Claims Cover PH-ILD Treatment
Six claims from United Therapeutics’ U.S. Patent No. 11,826,327 remained at trial: Claims 1, 5, 6, 9, 14 and 17.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews found Claims 1 and 14 valid, while Claims 5, 6, 9, and 17 were invalid. Liquidia had stipulated that YUTREPIA infringes Claims 1 and 14 if those claims were found valid.
Claim 1 covers a method of improving exercise capacity in patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease, or PH-ILD, by administering inhaled treprostinil at specified doses. Claim 14 depends on that method and adds administration through a dry-powder inhaler containing treprostinil or an acceptable salt.
That scope matters because YUTREPIA is approved for two separate indications.
The FDA approved YUTREPIA to improve exercise ability in adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, which is WHO Group 1 pulmonary hypertension, and PH-ILD, which is WHO Group 3.
The court upheld two patent claims covering PH-ILD treatment. However, the ruling did not separately find that the PAH indication infringes those claims.
Final Remedy Has Not Been Decided
United Therapeutics is seeking injunctive relief following the infringement finding, but the court has not yet determined the final scope of that relief.
Liquidia said United Therapeutics has sought restrictions that could affect YUTREPIA’s market availability. In its second-quarter Form 10-Q, Liquidia said United Therapeutics was seeking an injunction that could require YUTREPIA to be withdrawn from the market and prevent commercialization for both PAH and PH-ILD.
By contrast, United Therapeutics described the potential relief more narrowly in its own second-quarter filing, saying that if it prevailed, it believed it would be entitled to an order requiring Liquidia to remove the PH-ILD indication from YUTREPIA’s labeling and could also be entitled to damages.
Separately, Liquidia said it intends to ask the FDA to remove the PH-ILD indication from YUTREPIA’s label and is prepared to pursue all available appellate options.
YUTREPIA Commercial Context
YUTREPIA has become Liquidia’s main commercial product since its June 2025 launch.
Liquidia reported about $170.4 million in YUTREPIA net product sales for the second quarter of 2026, up 31% from the first quarter. Through July 31, the company said it had received about 5,900 unique patient prescriptions and started more than 5,000 patients on treatment since launch.
Liquidia does not publicly break out YUTREPIA revenue or patient counts between PAH and PH-ILD. Its disclosed commercial figures therefore do not show how much of the product’s current sales or patient use comes from the PH-ILD indication covered by the surviving patent claims.
