Samsung Bioepis files lawsuit against AbbVie over mega-selling RA drug Humira

5 April 2016

South Korean drug developer Samsung Bioepis is mounting a legal challenge to patents held by US pharma AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) on Humira (adalimumab) for rheumatoid arthritis – the world’s best-selling drug.

Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture between Korean conglomerate Samsung and US biotech company Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB), confirmed on Monday that it had filed a lawsuit in the UK last month as it seeks to develop a biosimilar version of the drug.

The composition patent for Humira expires in October 2018 and AbbVie has submitted new patents in attempts to delay the entry of such biosimilars and protect its own product, a move Samsung Bioepis has objected to over its impact on market competition.

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