Win for Pfizer as Judge Rules J&J Remicade Patent Invalid

Aug. 19, 2016

A federal judge invalidated a key patent on Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster arthritis drug Remicade, opening the door for Pfizer to sell a rival biosimilar in the U.S.

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf in Boston said the antibodies covered by the Remicade patent, which expires in 2018, were already disclosed in an earlier patent. The judge is also considering the validity of a second J&J patent.

Remicade is used to treat Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and ankylosing spondylitis. Pfizer’s Hospira has exclusive U.S. marketing rights to the biosimilar version, Inflectra, which would be manufacturered by South Korean drugmaker, Celltrion.

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