Shares of Regeneron fell 5% yesterday after the company’s effort to block Amgen from launching a biosimilar version of its blockbuster eye drug Eylea hit a legal roadblock.
The judge overseeing a patent infringement case denied Regeneron’s request for a temporary injunction that would have barred Amgen from immediately selling its Eylea copy, called Pavblu. The judge’s ruling was a surprise, because the same judge has previously granted Regeneron’s request for injunctions against other drugmakers seeking to launch Eylea biosimilars — seemingly supporting Amgen’s assertion that Pavblu doesn’t infringe on Regeneron’s patent. Regeneron filed an appeal.
Pavblu was approved in August, so technically, Amgen could bring the drug to the market “at risk,” meaning before patent litigation is decided, although that decision, in itself, would be financially risky if Regeneron were to ultimately prevail in court.
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