As one BPCIA case came to a close in May[1], another got underway. On May 1, 2023, Amgen filed a complaint in the District of New Jersey, accusing Sandoz of infringing patents that relate to denosumab, the active ingredient in Amgen’s PROLIA and XGEVA. PROLIA is prescribed for a high risk of bone
Recent FDA Discussion of Artificial Intelligence for Biosimilar Industry
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long been associated with science fiction movies about dystopian futures, leading to fear among the general public about its potential impact. This is especially the case today for those in academia who have graded countless papers written by ChatGPT. However, the truth is far from what we see in the movies.
Legislative Efforts to Remove Impediments to Biosimilar Approvals and Marketing
Biosimilars are becoming increasingly important in healthcare as they offer a lower-cost alternative to biologic drugs, which can be expensive for patients, governments, and insurers. These biologic medicines, which are highly similar to existing biological products and are designed to be as effective and safe as the brand name drugs, offer the potential to provide…
How to Effectively Use Patent Counsel to Navigate the USPTO’s Duty of Candor Guidance Regarding FDA Submissions
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued updated guidance on the duty of candor and duty to disclose in relation to submissions made to other government agencies, particularly the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Notice did not constitute new rule making and instead aims to clarify the obligations of patent applicants and…
Coherus Scores First Interchangeable Biosimilar Approval for Lucentis®
On August 2, 2022, Coherus BioSciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved CIMERLI™ (ranibizumab-eqrn) as a biosimilar product interchangeable with Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) for all five indications, meeting the FDA’s rigorous standards to the reference product, including safety, efficacy, and quality. Coherus plans to launch CIMERLI™ in early October 2022.…
Senators Urge Regulators to Block and Clear Patent Thickets
Patent thickets, particularly those involving pharmaceutical patents, appear to have caught the ire of many U.S. senators. Within the past few weeks, two separate letters have urged action to find ways to prevent issuance of overlapping patents covering a single pharmaceutical product. The letters provide insights into the tools they believe are available to address…
Purple Book Update – Regeneron’s EYLEA (aflibercept)
Patents related to Regeneron’s EYLEA (aflibercept) were recently added to the Purple Book. Under the Biological Product Patent Transparency Act, signed into law December 27, 2020 and codified at 42 U.S.C. § 262(k)(9), patents must be submitted to the FDA for listing in the Purple Book during the “Patent Dance” under the BPCIA. Specifically,…
Humira’s End of Reign
On March 8, 2022, Alvotech announced that it has executed a U.S. settlement agreement with Abbvie that grants Alvotech non-exclusive rights to market AVT02 (adalimumab) in the U.S starting July 1, 2023. AbbVie confirmed the resolution of disputes and stated that Alvotech will take a non-exclusive license to the patents, and in return, pay royalties…
How the U.S. Compares to Europe on Biosimilar Approvals and Products In the Pipeline Updated March 14, 2022
- FDA and EMA both approve additional biosimilar versions of Humira® (adalimumab).
- FDA also approves its third biosimilar version of Neupogen® (filgrastim).
- EMA has not approved any new biosimilars in 2022, but has recommended approval of teriparatide biosimilar Sondelbay and the pegfilgrastim biosimilar Stimufend.
As pharmaceutical drug costs attract increasing media attention and political scrutiny, a…
Enablement Ruling Extinguishes Broad Antibody Claims, What Comes Next?
Last week, a federal court in Delaware unsealed an opinion supporting its grant of summary judgment that U.S. Patent No. 7,033,590 (“the ’590 Patent”) is invalid for lack of enablement.[1] The ’590 Patent is owned by Baxalta Inc. (“Baxalta”), a subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd (“Takeda”).
As we previously discussed,…