Amgen announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 8,063,182 related to Enbrel® (etanercept). This patent is owned by Hoffman-La Roche Inc. ("Roche") and exclusively licensed to Amgen. Immunex Corporation (acquired by Amgen in 2002) originally licensed this patent application from Roche in 1999, and in 2004, Amgen paid Roche a one-time payment and obtained an exclusive, fully paid-up license to the application which issued today as the '182 patent. The patent describes and claims the fusion protein that is etanercept, and by statute, the '182 patent has a term of 17 years from today.
About ENBREL
ENBREL is a soluble form of a fully human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor with a clinical efficacy and safety profile established over 18 years of collective clinical experience. ENBREL was first approved in the U.S. in 1998 for moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and was later approved to treat children and adolescents with moderate to severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (now called juvenile idiopathic arthritis) in 1999. In 2004, ENBREL was approved in the U.S. to treat adult chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Prescription ENBREL is given by injection.
About Amgen
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science's promise by bringing safe, effective medicines from lab to manufacturing plant to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, bone disease and other serious illnesses. With a deep and broad pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing science to dramatically improve people's lives.