Another chapter in what's becoming a long Mircera saga: A federal appeals court ruled that Roche could import the anemia drug so long as it wasn't for sale--but sent the case back to the International Trade Commission for its opinion. Previously, the ITC had said that it couldn't rule on whether importing the med in itself would infringe on Amgen's patents. The appeals court says it can.
Meanwhile, a federal judge is still weighing his opinion in the case. Last month, he told Roche he might let Mircera onto the market in spite of the patent infringement if Roche would meet five conditions. Roche said yes. Amgen said, Not fair. How the judge will respond now is anyone's guess.
- read the update in the Wall Street Journal
ALSO: The shoe's on the other foot for Roche in India. The Delhi High Court ruled that domestic drug maker Cipla could market its copycat version of Roche's lung cancer med Tarceva, pending another hearing in August. The court also accepted a patent challenge to Tarceva from Cipla; Roche has four weeks to respond. Report
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Roche to Launch Mircera in U.K. and Germany. Report