Curtain: Act Two [of a three-act-play -- click to enlarge]. . . .
Recall that Johnson & Johnson's Centocor unit is in a pair of suits alleging, and defending, various claims of patent infringement -- one in Texas, from 2007 -- in which Centocor claims Abbott's Humira infringes several of Remicade's patents. In the other, pending in Boston, which was filed shortly after FDA approval of Simponi (a month or so ago), it is Abbott that claims Centocor has infringed some of Humira's patents, in the sales and marketing of Simponi (golimumab), the Centocor follow-on to Remicade.
Centocor has clearly won the case in Texas -- to the tune of $1.672 billion in jury-awarded patent-infringement (and royalties due) damages:
. . . .$1,168,466,000. . .
[plus]
$504,128,000. . . .
Wow. I do think this will embolden Centocor, and J&J, to very-aggressively pursue Schering-Plough, in the coming arbitration, over the reversion of Remicade and Simponi non-US rights. I think that is so, because Centocor is now flush with a sense of just how valuable this franchise will be, if Abbott's Humira has to pay steep royalties to it, just to stay on the market at all. Centocor will certainly want to likewise aggressively control the future of Simponi, given that the Abbott suit (alleging Simponi infringes on Abbott's Humira patents), in Boston, is still at least a couple of years away from a trial-date.
Were I Merck CEO Dick Clark, I'd seriously think about settling early with Centocor/J&J -- just to take the risk of a boxcar number (like this one, above) off the arbitrators' table.
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