'What’s wrong with having lots of patents?' Federal appeals judge sides with AbbVie in Humira case
A federal appeals court ruled in AbbVie’s favor on Monday, upholding an Illinois court’s decision to dismiss allegations that the pharma giant created an unlawful “patent thicket” around its blockbuster drug Humira.
Since its first approval in rheumatoid arthritis back in 2002, Humira has become one of the industry’s top sellers, snapping up a suite of new indications ranging from ulcerative colitis to ankylosing spondylitis. The drug raked in more than $5.3 billion last quarter. Its original patent expired in 2016 — however, AbbVie has obtained 132 additional patents related to the drug, the last of which runs out in 2034.
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