Court OKs Amgen Suit

A U.S. Federal District Court in Boston ruled Friday that a patent infringement lawsuit by drug maker Amgen against competitor Roche Pharmaceuticalscould move forward. The suit charges that an anemia drug under development by Roche called Cera violates patents on Amgen’s Epogen and Aranesp. The court also denied a move by Ortho Biotech, a division of Johnson & Johnson, to act as a co-plaintiff in the suit. Amgen is based in Thousand Oaks.