20 March 2019 - In a novel step, a New York union accused AbbVie and seven other drug makers of anti-competitive behaviour for striking deals that resolved patent lawsuits, but also meant that lower-cost biosimilar versions of the Humira treatment would not be available in the U.S. for several years.
In its lawsuit, Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents grocery store workers, alleged that AbbVie “abused the patent system” and “erected significant barriers to entry to block biosimilar competition” by filing dozens of patents for Humira, its franchise product.