No new trial for Abbott in $1.67 billion J&J verdict

Abbott Laboratories failed to convince a federal judge to overturn a record $1.67 billion verdict won by Johnson & Johnson's Centocor unit or to reduce the damage award.

U.S. District Judge T. John Ward in Marshall, Texas, turned down the requests after he "carefully considered" Abbott's arguments, he said in a one-page order yesterday.

A federal jury on June 30 said Abbott violated a Centocor patent and owes the company $504 million in royalties on the arthritis drug Humira, plus $1.17 billion in profits J&J lost from sales of its own medicines. It was the biggest patent verdict in U.S. history.

In court papers filed in July, Abbott spelled out several legal reasons why the Centocor patent is invalid and not infringed while seeking to have the verdict thrown out or a new trial ordered. Abbott also called the damage award "clearly excessive" and suggested different ways it could be cut.

Ward also issued a separate order that overturned the jury's ruling that Abbott's actions were intentional.

"We're pleased the court agreed that there was no basis for the jury's finding of willful patent infringement," said Adelle Infante, a company spokeswoman. "We're disappointed that the court didn't grant out other motions but remain confident in the merits of our case and that we'll prevail on appeal."

NYU Invention

Humira, the biggest seller for Abbott Park, Illinois- based Abbott, generated $4.5 billion in global sales last year, or about 15 percent of Abbott's total revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Centocor claimed Humira is made using technology developed by New York University and exclusively licensed to the J&J unit. The NYU invention is related to antibodies against tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, which is linked to inflammation. Humira works by blocking the action of the TNF protein.

The case is Centocor Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, 07cv139, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall).