Amgen shares jump as it wins Enbrel biosimilar patent case

Shares of US biotech giant Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) were up almost 6% at $196.25 by close of trading on Friday - on almost double normal volume - in response to a favorable Court ruling in its Enbrel (etanercept) patent dispute.

The US District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Amgen's favor on validity of the two patents that describe and claim rheumatoid arthritis/juvenile idiopathic arthritis therapy Enbrel– a drug that generated US sales of some $4.8 billion last year - and methods for making it.

Amgen affiliates Immunex and Amgen Manufacturing, along with the owner and licensor of the two patents, (ROG: SIX), brought the patent infringement action in Federal Court against fellow Swiss giant Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) Sandoz companies. Before trial, Sandoz acknowledged that its biosimilar etanercept infringes seven patent claims in US Patent Nos 8,063,182 and 8,163,522, said Amgen. Trial proceeded only on Sandoz's challenges to validity of those claims. After careful consideration, the Court found that Sandoz had not met its burden to prove all seven asserted claims invalid.