Amgen Wins Patent Case On Enbrel® (etanercept)

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Aug. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Amgen's favor on validity of the two patents that describe and claim Enbrel(® )(etanercept) and methods for making it.

Amgen affiliates Immunex Corporation and Amgen Manufacturing, Limited, along with the owner and licensor of the two patents, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., brought the patent infringement action in Federal Court against Sandoz Inc., Sandoz International GmbH and Sandoz GmbH (together, Sandoz). Before trial, Sandoz acknowledged that its biosimilar etanercept infringes seven patent claims in U.S. Patent Nos. 8,063,182 and 8,163,522. Trial proceeded only on Sandoz's challenges to validity of those claims. After careful consideration, the Court found that Sandoz had not met its burden to prove all seven asserted claims invalid.

Immunex/Amgen and Sandoz have entered into an agreement with respect to a preliminary injunction regarding Sandoz's etanercept as set out in the Court's order of June 7, 2018.

"We are pleased with today's decision recognizing the validity of these patents. Protecting intellectual property is critical to incentivize innovation and the large investments in research and development that are required to bring new medicines to patients and fully develop their therapeutic potential for patients," said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen.

About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.

Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be one of the world's leading independent biotechnology companies, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.

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CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Trish Hawkins, 805-447-5631 (media)
Jessica Akopyan, 805-447-0974 (media)
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SOURCE Amgen