As we previously reported, last September a District of Delaware jury issued a verdict that Hospira’s manufacture of 14 batches of drug substance in connection with its proposed biosimilar of Amgen’s Epogen® (epoetin alfa) was not protected activity under the § 271(e)(1) safe harbor and infringed Amgen’s ’298 patent, and awarded Amgen $70 million as a reasonable royalty for such infringement. In October, Hospira filed post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law of no infringement and invalidity, and in the alternative, requested a new trial or recalculation of damages. Amgen also filed its own post-trial motions regarding a second asserted patent, the ’349 patent, which the jury found not to be infringed. The parties completed briefing late last year and have been awaiting a decision on the motions ever since.
The trial judge, Judge Andrews, just issued a Memorandum Opinion, denying all of Hospira’s motions. The district court ruled in Amgen’s favor as to infringement of the ’298 patent and awarded Amgen $70 million, plus certain pre- and post-judgment interest. In addition, the court denied Hospira’s requests for a new trial and recalculation of damages, and denied Amgen’s motion for judgment as a matter of law as to the ’349 patent. As a consequence of today’s decision, the jury’s award of $70 million in damages stands, pending a potential appeal to the Federal Circuit.
Stay tuned for further developments.
The post BREAKING NEWS: Jury’s $70M Award Against Hospira for Infringing Amgen’s Epoetin Patent Survives Post-Trial Motions appeared first on Big Molecule Watch.