Sandoz, a Novartis division and the global leader in biosimilars, announced a global resolution of all intellectual property (IP) related litigation with AbbVie concerning the proposed Sandoz biosimilar Hyrimoz® (adalimumab)[1] for reference medicine Humira®* (adalimumab).
"In order to realize the promise of early and expanded access and healthcare savings, biosimilars must be available as soon as possible to the patients and physicians who need them. This settlement helps remove uncertainty regarding when our biosimilar adalimumab will be available and allows us to focus on expanding access for patients to the medicine they need to manage their chronic disease," said Stefan Hendriks, Global Head of Biopharmaceuticals, Sandoz.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie grants Sandoz a non-exclusive license to AbbVie's intellectual property relating to Humira®, beginning on certain dates in certain countries in which AbbVie has intellectual property. The license period will begin on October 16, 2018 in most countries in the European Union, and on other dates in various other countries outside the US where AbbVie has IP. In the US, the license period will begin on September 30, 2023.
Sandoz will pay royalties to AbbVie for licensing its Humira® patents. All litigation pending between the parties will be dismissed. AbbVie will make no payments to Sandoz. The precise terms are confidential between the parties.
Sandoz biosimilar adalimumab was recently approved by the European Commission (EC) for the 31 countries of the European Economic area, which comprises the 28 member countries of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It is the seventh approved Sandoz biosimilar medicine.
About Sandoz
Sandoz is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. As a division of the Novartis Group, our purpose is to discover new ways to improve and extend people's lives. We contribute to society's ability to support growing healthcare needs by pioneering novel approaches to help people around the world access high-quality medicine. Our portfolio of approximately 1000 molecules, covering all major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2017 sales of USD 10.1 billion. In 2017, our products reached well over 500 million patients and we aspire to reach one billion. Sandoz is headquartered in Holzkirchen, in Germany's Greater Munich area.
1. European Medicines Agency. Hyrimoz. Key Facts. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/medicines/human/EPAR/hyrimoz. Accessed October 2, 2018.
*Humira® (adalimumab) is marketed by AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG in Europe and Humira® is a registered trademark of AbbVie Biotechnology, Inc.