AbbVie and Sandoz reach settlement over biosimilar

Sandoz, the generics business of Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX), today announced a global resolution of all intellectual property (IP) related litigation with AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) concerning the proposed Sandoz biosimilar Hyrimoz (adalimumab) 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 at 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 USA where AbbVie has IP. In the USA, the license period will begin on September 30, 2023.