US: Appeals court upholds ruling invalidating J&J patent on Remicade

On Tuesday, January 23, a US appeals court upheld a ruling that invalidated a crucial Johnson & Johnson (J&J) patent on its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade, limiting J&J’s ability to seek damages from Pfizer Inc over its launch of a lower-cost version of the drug.

The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a ruling by a US administrative court that a J&J patent covering the active ingredient in Remicade was invalid because its concepts were covered in a prior J&J patent.

Remicade generated US sales of US$4.8 billion for J&J in 2016, but it faces increased competition from cheaper “biosimilar” copycats, including Pfizer’s version, which is sold in the United States under the name Inflectra.

J&J said at the time that it considered Pfizer’s maneuver to be an “at risk” launch, meaning that Pfizer would be liable for money damages to J&J if an appeals court reversed the rulings and upheld the patent.

Full Content: Bloomberg Quint

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