Amgen, Pfizer settle patent suit over cancer treatment

Amgen has settled its dispute with Pfizer subsidiary Hospira, which it had accused of infringing a patent covering its blockbuster cancer drug treatment Neupogen (filgrastim).

The District Court for the District Court of Delaware published the proposed order of the dismissal of the lawsuit on Wednesday, September 1.

The legal wrangling began in April 2020, when Amgen sued Hospira and Pfizer, holding that the pharmaceutical companies had infringed its patent, US number, 10,577,392 with the release of its generic, Nivestym, two years earlier.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved Nivestym in July 2018, and it proceeded to market three months later.

The patent-in-suit covers methods of purifying proteins used in the manufacture of the Neupogen that helps produce neutrophils, a type of white blood cell.

Neupogen has been available since 1991 and has generated US sales of $54 million during the first six months of 2021 for Amgen, according to the company’s financial reporting.

In June 2020, the federal court in Delaware rejected Amgen’s motion to consolidate a suit against Pfizer and Hospira with a parallel litigation between the parties involving related US patent No. 9,643,997 (parent to the ‘392 patent).

No further details were provided in the order, which has yet to be approved.

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