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Goodwin’s award-winning Big Molecule Watch is the best resource for daily updates and analyses of regulatory issues, litigation, legislation, and other news in the world of biologics, biosimilars and related technologies. The editors of this blog have collectively been watching and engaging with the world of biologics and biosimilars (“big molecules”) since before the inception of the biosimilar industry in the U.S.  With extensive experience representing clients at all stages of a biologic’s or biosimilar’s lifecycle, from research and development, to patents, to regulatory application and approval, and through litigation and appeals, we are excited to share our observations and insights as the industry and the law continues to develop in this exciting area.

This blog focuses on “big molecules” as opposed to “small molecules.” Small molecule drugs have low molecular weight, a simple and well-defined structure, and are chemically synthesized. In contrast, “big molecule” drugs have high molecular weight, complex structures, and are derived from living organisms. For example, aspirin is small molecule while a monoclonal antibody is a big molecule. For further reading on big molecules, consider FDA's resources on biologics.

Biosimilar Development Update: Mochida, Celltrion, Innovent, DRL, Fresenius

Below are some highlights of recent biosimilar development news from this week: On September 20, Mochida announced that it had obtained marketing approval in Japan for RGB-10, a biosimilar of FORTEO (teraparitide) that Mochida developed in Japan based on a comprehensive license and collaboration agreement with Gedeon Richter Plc.  Mochida…

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Biosimilar Development Updates

Below are some recent highlights of biosimilar news: On August 20th, two companies announced that they had launched competing biosimilars of Eli Lilly’s FORSTEO (teriparatide) in Europe.  First, Gedeon Richter announced that it launched TERROSA in Europe after it received approval from the European Commission.  According to the announcement, the…

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Third Circuit Refers Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade Antitrust Claims to Arbitration

We have been covering Pfizer’s antitrust suit against Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturer of REMICADE (infliximab), as well as a related antitrust litigation filed by retailers Walgreen and Kroger Co. and direct and indirect purchasers of Remicade.  The cases generally allege that Johnson & Johnson excluded Pfizer’s infliximab biosimilar from the market through anticompetitive bundling and rebate penalties…

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Trastuzumab Appeals Update

Last week, several briefs were filed in Federal Circuit appeals relating to trastuzumab biosimilars: Trastuzumab IPR Appeals On September 3, 2019, the USPTO submitted responsive appellate briefs in Federal Circuit appeals from IPR final written decisions regarding two patents related to methods of treating HER2+ cancer with trastuzumab (Cases Nos….

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PTAB Institutes Inter Partes Review of Three Eculizumab Patents

In February of this year, Amgen filed three petitions for inter partes review (IPR) of Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ U.S. Patent Nos. 9,725,504 (IPR2019-00739), 9,718,880 (IPR2019-00740), and 9,732,149 (IPR2019-00741). The claims of the challenged patents are directed to the monoclonal antibody eculizumab, which is the active ingredient in Alexion’s SOLIRIS, or methods…

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Settlement Reached in Genentech v. JHL Biosimilar Trade Secrets Case

On September 5, JHL Biotech announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Genentech to resolve the parties’ lawsuit regarding JHL’s alleged misappropriation of trade secrets relating to Genentech’s Rituxan® (rituximab), Herceptin® (trastuzumab), Avastin® (bevacizumab), and Pulmozyme® (dornase alfa) products. As we previously reported, in October 2018, Genentech filed…

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Biologic Developments in the Treatment of Axial Spondyloarthritis

In August, the American College of Rheumatology released updated guidelines for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), the two types of axial spondyloarthritis. The new recommendations suggest that patients use TNF inhibitors (Humira, Cimzia and Enbrel) as first-line therapy, followed by IL-17 inhibitors (Cosentyx and Taltz)…

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DEAL WATCH: Recent Biosimilar Collaboration Announcements

In recent weeks, several drug makers announced collaborations for the development, manufacture, and/or commercialization of a variety of biosimilars or follow-on biologics.  Below are some highlights: On September 3, 2019, Polpharma Biologics and Sandoz announced that they have entered into a global commercialization agreement in connection with Polpharma’s proposed biosimilar…

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