Posted by Michael Wonder on 25 Jan 2017
Novartis says court battle will delay its Enbrel copy until 2018 at least
25 January 2017 - The Novartis copy of Amgen's blockbuster psoriasis drug Enbrel will not go on sale before 2018 at the earliest because of the U.S. company's patent protection challenge, the Swiss drugmaker's head of generics told Reuters.
Though the U.S. FDA has approved the biosimilar copy of Enbrel, called Erelzi, for rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis, ankylosing spondylitis and other diseases, Amgen is arguing in U.S. federal court that its $4.7 billion a year drug has patent protection until 2029.
Richard Francis, head of Novartis's Sandoz generics business, said it will be at least another year before the legal fight plays out.
