Europe’s largest drug and chemical maker, Bayer AG, lost another effort to collect patent royalties from a competitor. Bayer claims certain arthritis drugs violate a patent for antibodies against tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, an immune-cell protein linked to inflammation.
This time around, Bayer, which sued in 2009, conceded that Johnson & Johnson’s Simponi product isn’t infringing its patent under an interpretation of “human monoclonal antibodies” issued by a federal judge last month. Bayer’s claim to royalties on sales of the rheumatoid arthritis drug , terminated last friday, could be revived if it wins its appeal of the ruling.
Earlier this month, Bayer made the same concession in a suit against Abbott Laboratories, maker of the arthritis drug Humira.
Bloomberg reported Oliver Renner, a Bayer spokesman, said after the Abbott ruling that the concesion was “a procedural step in order to allow a quick appeal” of the earlier determination on the definition of the phrase. Moreover, the prestigious business publication reported Brian Kenney, a spokesman for J&J’s Centocor Ortho Biotech unit, saying the company agreed “…with the judge’s ruling related to the claim construction and remain confident that it will be sustained on appeal” .
The case is Bayer Healthcare LLC v. Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., 09cv11362, and the Abbott case is Abbott Laboratories v. Bayer Healthcare LLC, 09cv40002, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Worcester).
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