Drug makers sue each other all the time for alleged patent violations and yesterday Abbott Laboratories lost a big round in one such case. A federal jury in Texas ordered the Chicago drug maker to pay J&J one of the largest penalties in U.S. history — $1.67 billion — for infringing on patents related to J&J’s Remicade. In the lawsuit, filed in 2007, J&J accused Abbott of using patented technology that had been exclusively licensed to J&J from New York University, claiming that Abbott had develop its blockbuster anti-inflammatory biologic Humira with it. Abbott argued that Humira was novel and fully derived from human DNA, whereas J&J’s Remicade is partially derived from mouse DNA, notes the Chicago Tribune . There is still a long road before any money changes hands, since Abbott intends to appeal

the verdict, according to the WSJ . However, J&J isn’t trying to keep Abbott from selling Humira, which generated $4.5 billion in revenue last year. That should minimize any damages to Abbott’s bottom line, should the company ultimately have to pay, Leerink Swann analyst Rick Wise said in a research note. Bayer is also suing Abbott alleging that Humira infringes on its patents. And in May, Abbott filed a lawsuit against J&J in Massachusetts alleging that J&J and Schering-Plough’s new anti-inflammatory, Simponi, infringes on a Humira patent. Credit Suisse analyst Catherine Arnold says in a research note that though the cases are independent, Abbott and J&J might consider them together in the event they discuss a settlement.

See the original post here: 
Abbott Ordered to Pay Hefty Damages to J&J