U.S. Patent No. 9,856,287, which is directed to a protein refolding method, is one of the patents-in-suit in the pending Amgen v. Adello (filgrastim) BPCIA litigation and the sole patent-in-suit in the pending Amgen v. Apotex (filgrastim and pegfilgrastim) BPCIA litigation. As we previously reported, in November 2018, Adello and…
On April 15, 2019, the parties filed their opening claim construction briefs (Amgen’s Brief; Adello’s Brief) in the Amgen v. Adello BPCIA litigation concerning Adello’s aBLA for a biosimilar of Neupogen® (filgrastim). The patents at issue are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,940,878; 9,643,997; 8,952,138; and 9,856,287, each generally directed to the production of proteins in…
Alexion’s Soliris® (eculizumab) is a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). Soliris® has already been approved in the U.S., EU, and Japan as a first line treatment. Last week, Russia approved the launch of an eculizumab biosimilar developed by Generium,…
On April 11, 2019, in Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Par Pharmaceutical Inc., a Hatch-Waxman case concerning the small-molecule drug Zortress® (everolimus), Judge Andrews of the District of Delaware ruled that IPR estoppel could apply on remand to the District Court even after a trial on the issue of invalidity had been…
Magistrate Judge Lloret of the District of Delaware recently issued two discovery rulings in the ongoing AbbVie v. Boehringer Ingelheim (“BI”) litigation. Grant of BI’s Motion To Compel Production Of Pre-litigation Disclosures and Settlement Agreements In an opinion issued on April 11, 2019, the court granted BI’s motion to compel production…
Last week, Sandoz announced the resubmission of its Biologics License Application (“BLA”) for its proposed biosimilar to Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim). The resubmission is to address an FDA complete response letter that Sandoz received in June 2016. According to the press release, the resubmission includes new data from a pivotal pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics study. The study compared: …
Last week, the district court in Amgen v. Apotex (No. 18-61828) (S.D. Fla.) denied Apotex’s motion to dismiss Amgen’s complaint in a follow-on suit concerning Apotex’s pegfilgrastim and filgrastim biosimilar candidates. By way of background, Amgen and Apotex have been involved in multiple patent lawsuits regarding Apotex’s pegfilgrastim and filgrastim biosimilars…
On April 5, 2019, Genentech filed patent infringement and declaratory judgment complaint against Pfizer in the District of Delaware in response to Pfizer’s submission of an aBLA seeking U.S. FDA approval of a biosimilar of Avastin® (bevacizumab). In the complaint, Genentech alleges infringement of 22 patents, out of a total…
The FDA has announced that it will hold a hearing to discuss affordability of and access to insulin products, including issues concerning the development of biosimilar and interchangeable insulin products. The hearing will cover scientific standards for evaluating biosimilarity and interchangeability of insulin products; other regulatory considerations, such as whether…
On April 3, 2019, the Board ordered review by the Precedential Opinion Panel (“POP”) of its decision denying institution in Hulu LLC v. Soundview Innovations LLC, IPR2018-01039, Paper No. 15 (December 3, 2018). Hulu requested rehearing of the decision arguing that the Board’s denial of institution conflicts with other Board…