Epogen 4: Appeals Court Confirms Amgen Win

January 7, 2003

Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said on Monday an appeals court affirmed a district court decision that found Transkaryotic Therapies (TKTX.O) and Aventis (AVEP.PA) infringed two of Amgen’s patents with their version of Amgen’s top-selling anemia drug Epogen.

Amgen said it believed the decision would protect Epogen from competition in the United States. TKT and Aventis make anti-anemia treatment Dynepo and have been fighting Amgen in the courts in Europe and the United States.

Amgen said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the finding of the lower court that two of its patents were infringed by TKT and Aventis.  But the appeals court also vacated lower court decisions about a third patent, which was originally found not to be infringed, and a fourth patent, which was originally found to be infringed.

The affirmation that TKT and Aventis infringed two patents was enough to prompt Amgen to state that it would be able to “successfully enforce its patent rights against TKT and Aventis.”  Amgen has said it expects to generate sales of $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion from Epogen and second-generation drug Aranesp this year.

By REUTERS