Sale Date Set for Amgen’s Biosimilar of Humira

Amgen Inc.’s Amjevita, a biosimilar of the bestselling drug in the world, will launch in Europe and the United States in 2018 and 2023, respectively, the company announced. Amjevita is a copycat of AbbVie Inc.’s Humira, an anti-inflammatory medication. Last year Humira reported $16 billion in sales, a 15 percent increase from the year before. While Amjevita was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year, Amgen and AbbVie has been tangled up in patent litigation. Under the terms of the agreement announced today, AbbVie will grant a patent license for the sale of Amjevita on a country-by-country basis. The two companies have dismissed all pending litigation, and have not disclosed specific financial terms of the settlement. “Amjevita will be one of our first biosimilar launches, and this agreement will allow us to secure a strong foothold in the $4 billion European adalimumab market,” Scott Foraker, vice president of biosimilars at Amgen, said in a statement. “Building on our strong inflammatory disease presence in the Unites States, we are excited to develop our inflammation capabilities in Europe, extending our reach and helping more patients gain access to this important class of therapies.” Following the announcement shares of AbbVie (ABBV) rose $4.18 or 5 percent, and closed at $88.96 on NYSE. Shares of Amgen (AMGN) on Thursday closed up 58 cents, or less than a percent, at $185.46 on the Nasdaq.