Abbott settles University of Iowa Humira royalty case

Abbott Laboratories, the drugmaker challenging a $1.67 billion patent verdict won by Johnson & Johnson over the arthritis medicine Humira, settled a royalty battle with the University of Iowa over the medicine.

The university and its research foundation, which licenses the school's intellectual property, sued Abbott in June, claiming it was owed royalties on two patents related to gene expression and protein production. A dismissal notice was filed Dec. 21 in federal court in Davenport, Iowa.

"This is a reasonable settlement that allows us to put the matter behind us," said Adelle Infante, a spokeswoman for Abbott. "The amount and terms of the settlement are confidential."

The agreement eliminates just one fight Libertyville Township-based Abbott has over demands for royalties on the $4.5 billion a year it gets from Humira sales.

In addition to the verdict won in June by J&J's Centocor unit, Abbott is trying to ward off royalty demands by Bayer AG's HealthCare unit in a case in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts.

U.S. District Judge T. John Ward in Marshall, Texas, on Dec. 18 added $175.6 million in interest to the record $1.67 billion verdict, for a final judgment total of $1.84 billion. He also ordered a new case be opened to determine how much Abbott might owe in ongoing royalties. The judge's judgment order is a formality that sets the stage for Abbott's its appeal.

"We can now move forward to the appeals process, since we believe this verdict is out of step with the law, the facts and the scope of prior patent damage awards," Infante said. "The trial court's judgment represents solely the end of the first round. Abbott remains confident that we will prevail on appeal."

The cases are Centocor Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, 2:07- cv-00139, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall), and University of Iowa v. Abbott Laboratories, 3:09- cv-00099, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa (Davenport).