Abbvie and Fresenius Kabi have announced today that they entered into a worldwide settlement and licensing arrangement resolving all intellectual property-related litigation concerning Fresenius’s MSB11022, a biosimilar candidate of AbbVie’s HUMIRA (adalimumab). According to the press releases, under the terms of the royalty-bearing settlement and license agreements, AbbVie has granted…
Amgen has announced that its adalimumab biosimilar AMGEVITA launched yesterday in European markets. This is Amgen’s first “inflammation” biosimilar to launch in Europe, and its second biosimilar to launch in Europe overall. According to Amgen, two Phase 3 studies confirmed that AMGEVITA showed biosimilarity to adalimumab, showing no clinically meaningful…
On October 11, 2018, AbbVie and Sandoz announced that they reached a global resolution of all intellectual property-related litigation concerning Sandoz’s Hyrimoz™, a proposed biosimilar of Humira® (adalimumab). According to the press releases, under the terms of the royalty-bearing settlement agreements, AbbVie is granting to Sandoz a non-exclusive license to…
In August, we reported that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the granting of marketing authorization for three biosimilar medicines: (1) Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics (FKB) and Mylan’s Hulio® (adalimumab), a proposed biosimilar of Humira®; (2) Accord Healthcare’s Pelgraz® (pegfilgrastim),…
We previously reported on discovery disputes in the adalimumab litigation between AbbVie and Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) pending before the District of Delaware. Earlier this month, Judge Lloret issued an order on additional discovery motions filed by the parties. Taking into account standards under the Federal Rules, “that the amount in controversy…
In a complaint filed yesterday, the State of California sued AbbVie, Inc. based on an alleged kickback scheme in connection with AbbVie’s Humira® (adalimumab). The complaint alleges that AbbVie violated the Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (“IFPA”) by providing kickbacks to health providers throughout California. Specifically, AbbVie allegedly indirectly paid healthcare…
On September 12, 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim announced positive results from a Phase III clinical trial for its approved adalimumab biosimilar, Cyltezo®. The clinical trial compared the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of Cyltezo® and Humira® in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. According to Boehringer Ingelheim, the study confirmed equivalence of Cyltezo®…
Last week the European Commission granted marketing authorization for two biosimilars. First, Sandoz, a division of Novartis, announced on July 27 that it had received marketing authorization for Hyrimoz, its adalimumab biosimilar to AbbVie’s Humira. Authorization was granted for all indications of the reference biologic, including rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis,…
AbbVie raised its 2018 earnings guidance last week, based in part on increased sales of Humira (adalimumab). In its report on its second-quarter 2018 financial results, AbbVie noted a 10% increase in U.S. sales of Humira in the quarter, and stated during the earnings call that it expected U.S. sales…
United States Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) recently sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons urging the “FTC to examine global patent settlements relating to biosimilars to ensure they are not in violation of antitrust laws.” According to the Senators, “biologics constitute a…