Amgen stalls Samsung's Enbrel biosim until 2029 in 2nd patent win of the year

Amgen breathed a sigh of relief this summer when the Supreme Court declined to take up a Sandoz patent dispute challenging its anti-inflammatory blockbuster Enbrel. Now, the California drugmaker has warded off a second would-be rival, securing monopoly sales for many years to come.

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey sided with Amgen, Roche and Immunex in their bid to keep Samsung Bioepis’ Enbrel biosimilar, Eticovo, off the U.S. market until nearly the end of the decade. In documents filed last month, the court held that Samsung would infringe two Enbrel patents if it tried to sell its copycat before 2029, when the patents expire.