Abbott should pay $2.1 billion over Humira, J&J tells jury
Libertyville Township-based Abbott Laboratories should pay $1.67 billion to Johnson & Johnson's Centocor unit for using its invention to produce the Humira arthritis drug, a federal jury said in the largest patent verdict in U.S. history.
The jury sided with J&J, the world's biggest health-care company, after five hours of deliberations Monday. The verdict is also the largest jury award in any case so far in 2009, according to Bloomberg data.
Centocor claimed Humira is made using technology developed by New York University and exclusively licensed to the J&J unit. The NYU property related to antibodies against tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, which is linked to inflammation. Humira works by blocking the action of the TNF protein. J&J's Centocor asked the jury to award $2.1 billion in royalties and lost profit.
Humira, the biggest seller for Abbott, generated $4.5 billion in global sales last year, or about 15 percent of Abbott's total revenue. The company has projected global sales growth of Humira of 15 percent to 20 percent this year.
J&J has said it isn't seeking to block sales of the drug, only to get a share of the sales. Even with the sought-after $2.1 billion award, Abbott would make a large profit off the drug, J&J attorneys told the jury earlier.
Humira sales rose 17 percent in the first quarter to $1.02 billion. The drug costs about $19,000 a year.
Abbott argued it wasn't using the technology and urged the jury to invalidate the patent. J&J's and Abbott's products are completely different, Abbott attorneys told the jury.
Abbott contended the patent doesn't cover the human antibodies that are used in Humira, and they are invalid because scientists couldn't make fully human antibodies against TNF in a laboratory in 1994, the date set by the court as the time of the invention.
J&J makes the competing medicine Remicade, which generated $3.75 billion in sales for the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company, mostly in the U.S. Global sales of Remicade by J&J and marketing partners were $6.2 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Both Humira and Remicade are autoimmune treatments based on inhibiting the germ-fighting protein TNF. When the body produces too much TNF, it can cause the immune system to attack healthy tissue and leads to inflammation.
Humira is approved for six indications, including the skin disease psoriasis and Crohn's Disease, an inflammation of the bowel. The largest number of prescriptions is for rheumatoid arthritis, which can cause long-term joint damage, resulting in chronic pain and loss of movement.
Bayer AG's HealthCare unit also is trying to collect royalties on Humira. Abbott is challenging the Bayer patent in court.
Officials with the two companies had no immediate comment on the verdict.