Sandoz Attacks Amgen Over US Enbrel Exclusivity

Sandoz has reached an agreement with AbbVie to dismiss without prejudice patent-infringement litigation involving more than 20 patents shielding the originator’s blockbuster JAK inhibitor Rinvoq.

After Amgen’s surprise launch of the first US biosimilar to Eylea last year, expectations around competition are being further upended with the news that Biocon Biologics has struck a settlement deal with Regeneron allowing it to launch its own aflibercept rival in the second half of 2026. Will other challengers follow suit?

Having failed in US patent litigation over Amgen’s Enbrel, Sandoz is taking an alternative approach in trying to get its Erelzi biosimilar to market in the US ahead of patent expiry in 2029: launching an antitrust attack against the originator for “unlawfully extending and entrenching its monopoly."

Jazz has agreed a nine figure settlement agreement in the US with purchasers of its Xyrem blockbuster following claims that it illegally delayed generic competition to the blockbuster treatment for narcolepsy via patent-litigation settlement agreements with several ANDA sponsors.