I have blogged about the Amgen v. Sanofi case several times, and the case has been summarized in my prior posts andelsewhere.  The case pitted two competing PCSK9-inhibitors against one another, and after several years, resulted in cancelling broad patents covering the new class of antibodies.  Whenever there is any case that cancels patents within the pharmaceutical or biotech space, the common knee-jerk retort from some commentators is that the decision will suppress innovation, chill R&D and discourage any investment in life-saving medicine.  In this case, the opposite is true.

When does a pile of sand become a heap? When is a portfolio of patents too many patents? Can using too many patents to compel generics to take a later entry date turn into monopolistic conduct? These questions lurk the heart of the antitrust litigation brought by buyers of the blockbuster drug, Humira®, against its manufacturer, AbbVie ($ABBV). The case is currently pending within the Northern District of Illinois (In Re: Humira (Adalimumab) Antitrust Litigation, No. 19-cv-1873 (N.D. Ill.)). We previously blogged about related allegations before the case was filed when Boehringer Ingelheim raised them within its biosimilar litigation against AbbVie. On June 8, 2020, the Illinois federal court dismissed the antitrust action pursuant to AbbVie’s motion to dismiss. What are the takeaways from the case?

The long-running patent dispute between Amgen ($AMGN) and Regeneron($REGN) and Sanofi over their competing PCSK9-inhibitors (Repatha® and Praluent®) has reached another milestone.  The case also represents another milestone in the changing landscape for patents covering biologic drugs.  The Amgen decision is at least the second district court decision this year that has invalidated biologic antibody patents under the doctrine of enablement.  The earlier decision related to MorphoSys patents asserted against Janssen related to Darzalex®.  The takeaway is clear:  as biologic drugs take up a larger share of the pharmaceutical medications in the U.S., courts are making it harder for drug companies to use overly-broad patents to corner the market on a particular inhibitor.

And just like that, it’s over.  Boehringer Ingelheim has thrown in the towel in its patent fight with AbbVie over Boehringer’s proposed biosimliar for Humira®.  Boehringer was a lone hold-out among a long line of proposed biosimilars for AbbVie’s blockbuster.  Boehringer’s distinction was that it had raised a unique defense, namely, arguing that AbbVie had built an unfair “patent thicket” around Humira® that was unenforceable.  We previously blogged about Boehringer’s “unclean hands” defense here and here and here.  Now that Boehringer has settled, what are the larger lessons for future biosimilar patent fights?

Amgen ($AMGN) is about to square off once again against Regeneron ($REGN) and Sanofi over whether Praluent® should be pulled from the market.  Having prevailed at another jury trial earlier this year showing that Amgen’s PCSK9 protein patents are both valid and infringed, Amgen has renewed its bid for a court order enjoining Praluent® from the market.  The injunction hearing is scheduled for June 2019.  Over two years ago, Amgen prevailed after an earlier injunction hearing where the court ordered Praluent® to be barred from the market.  Will Amgen be able to prevail again? 

On January 18, the District Court in Delaware issued an opinion resolving multiple summary judgment motions filed by both parties.  The key takeaway from that decision is that the case is now teed-up for trial beginning on February 19. But the Court didi highlight some key issues likely to be the focus of the trial.

Boehringer Ingelheim has been one of the lone holdouts in AbbVie’s ($ABBV) campaign to delay biosimilar competition against Humira® until 2023.  To date, AbbVie has settled with almost all proposed biosimilars for entry dates in 2023.  Is Boehringer going to launch at-risk?

Mylan’s biosimilar for Herceptin® has FDA approval since December 2017.  Several months earlier, in March 2017, Mylan reached a global settlement with Roche and Genentech regarding their patents covering the drug.  The terms of the settlement have not been made public, which raises the question – when did Mylan agree to launch? 

Amgen’s ($AMGN) patent fight against Regeneron ($REGN) and Sanofi has been quiet for much of this year.  But it is likely to heat up again shortly.  What is coming up?

We previously wrote about Roche’s encroaching biosimilars for Ritxuan®, Herceptin®, and Avastin®.  This week, Roche prevailed on two IPRs covering patents for Herceptin®, but lost a third IPR covering another patent for the same drug. What does this mean? 

The anti-CGRP market is heating.  Amgen’s ($AMGN) Aimovig® received FDA approval in May 2018, and Teva’s ($TEVA) Ajovy® received approval in September.  Hot on their heels, Eli Lilly’s ($LLY) Emgality® just received FDA approval at the end of September.  The drugs will all be sold for essentially the same price of $6900 / year.  Given the tight competition, can Teva use its patents to kick anyone off the market?

​​​​​​​Boehringer Ingelheim has claimed that AbbVie wrongfully created a “patent thicket” around Humira®, and it is delaying biosimilar competition.  While that defense is unique, and may be hard to prove on its face, the FDA appears to agree with Boehringer.  Did AbbVie create a wrongful “patent thicket” around Humira®?

AbbVie ($ABBV) has commenced its latest litigation in its campaign to keep biosimilars for Humira® at bay.  On August 10, AbbVie brought suit against Sandoz ($NVS) asserting that two of AbbVie’s patents will be infringed by Sandoz’s proposed biosimilar.  Sandoz is the fifth biosimilar to throw its hat in the ring.  Does this increase the odds of the US market seeing a biosimilar for Humira® before 2023?

The biosimilars are biting.  And they are biting at three big biologics distributed by Roche through its biotech subsidiary, Genentech.  Roche currently faces pending biosimilar competition against Avastin® (bevacizumab), Roche’s biggest selling cancer drug, Herceptin® (trastuzmab), Roche’s breast-cancer drug, and Rituxan® (rituximab), Roche’s immunotherapy drug.  All three drugs are involved in patent litigations. How long will these cases last? And how long can Roche keep the biosimilars out?

The parties recently filed a report that appears to identify what the September trial will focus on, but it was filed under seal, which leaves investors in the dark.

The much-anticipated trial in the biosimilar litigation over Enbrel® has been pushed from April, to June and now to September.  Although Amgen ($AMGN) has asserted five patents against Sandoz’s ($NVS) proposed biosimilar, Erelzi®, the focus of the case are the two Roche patents directed to the entanercept protein itself.  And yet, a skirmish has erupted related to one of the three other patents, which collectively cover indications for using entanercept to treat psoriasis indications.

Regeneron ($REGN) and Sanofi released positive topline results from their ODYSSEY clinical trial Praluent®.  In addition was the announcement that prices for Praluent® may be cut.  Investors who may have grown skeptical with the new PCSK9-inhibitor class may now be interested again, which may include the pending patent lawsuit between Amgen ($AMGN) and Regeneron.  What is happening in the case?

The PTAB has denied institution of two IPRs filed by Coherus Biosciences against patents covering Enbrel®’s proteins, the ‘182 and ‘522 patents.  The IPRs were not filed by Sandoz, but they will most likely affect Sandoz.  Sandoz already has FDA approval to market Erelzi®, which is its biosimilar for Enbrel®.  And Sandoz is going to trial against Amgen in April.  How do Coherus IPR decisions affect Sandoz's decision to launch at risk?  Or to settle with Amgen?

Sandoz was denied institution on two IPRs against Humira® patents owned by AbbVie.  As we previously discussed, in late 2017, Sandoz filed eight different IPRs against Humira® patents.  Two of those IPRs just failed to reach institution.  What are the take-aways, for Sandoz and any other Humira® biosimilars?

Sandoz recently prevailed in court against Amgen by showing it does not infringe a patent covering two of Amgen’s drugs, Neulasta® and Neupogen®.  No biosimilar has yet to receive FDA approval for Neulasata® within the U.S.  Sandoz recently announced successful Phase 1 data indicating it may be getting closer.  Further, other biosimilars for Neulasta® are in the works.  Given that Neulasta® accounts for a third of Amgen’s sales, will Amgen’s recent loss in its case against Sandoz read-through to other biosimilars?