Amgen and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Reach Agreement in Patent Battle

Shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals were soaring on Thursday and Friday after the company along with Amgen announced an agreement in a patent battle over blockbuster rare-disease drug Soliris.

In a Wednesday filing, a judge with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board said that Alexion and Amgen which brought the suit, had asked to postpone the scheduled start date of oral arguments in the trial because they had “reached a settlement agreement in principle.”

Amgen confirmed the agreement in an email to Investor’s Business Daily. The biotech companies will settle claims related to three patients protecting Alexion’s blockbuster drug Soliris. Amgen had hoped to launch a biosimilar copycat of the rare-disease drug in 2022.

Alexion has been engaged in a court battle with Amgen over the rights to Soliris, which is Alexion’s top-selling drug. Amgen was looking to develop a biosimilar version of Soliris, which would threaten that revenue.

Soliris® (eculizumab), a complement inhibitor, is the first and only medication approved by the FDA to treat adults with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who are anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.