AbbVie accused of delay tactics in $1.3bn Humira dispute
Big pharma company relies on procedural arguments to fend off a complaint alleging that it engaged in excessive pricing | Feud centres on one of the most successful blockbuster drugs of all time.
AbbVie has been criticised for its response to a suit alleging that it overcharged the Dutch healthcare system by nearly $1.3 billion for its best-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira (Adalimumab).
In February 2023, Holland’s Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation (PAF) brought a lawsuit alleging that AbbVie had abused its dominant market position to make excessive profits, violating both Dutch competition law and human rights principles.
LSIPR has seen a Dutch-to-English translation of the response, which was filed on November 15, in Amsterdam. It appears to claim that PAF’s case is inadmissible since it was not directly harmed by AbbVie’s pricing practices.
The translated version also appears to argue that the Dutch court has no jurisdiction to hear the claim against AbbVie because its main headquarters are in the US.
One of the best-selling pharmaceutical products in history, Humira was the most-sold drug worldwide between 2012 and 2020.
Between 2003 and 2022, it netted AbbVie $208 billion ($225 billion) worldwide, and €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) in The Netherlands from 2004 and 2018, according to PAF.
The non-profit further accused AbbVie of trying to fight off the entry of biosimilar versions of Humira (made by third parties) into its market by filing 247 patents on the medicine in the US.
Generic drug makers, it alleged, then entered into agreements with AbbVie to open the European market in 2018 in exchange for them guarding the US market until 2023.
‘Distractions to delay or avoid’
When biosimilars entered the European market in October 2018, AbbVie allegedly dropped the price of Humira by 80%, which PAF says is an indication of how much the drug was overpriced during the length of its patent protection.
These claims “are distractions in an attempt to delay or avoid” addressing the substantive issues of the case, according to the PAF.
The Foundation contends that AbbVie acted contrary to fundamental human rights, including the right to life and the highest attainable standard of health—which includes access to essential medicines.
PAF expects a public court session in early 2024. LSIPR has approached AbbVie for comment.
