A number of top lawyers and analysts have revealed that Amgen, Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) may end up losing the case it leveled against Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN).This was after a federal appeals court hinted on Tuesday that it may let the two business giants continue with the sale of a cholesterol drug which Amgen Inc was determined to see blocked.
A lawyer for Regeneron and Sanofi, Paul Clement in the recent hearing defended the two companies strongly urging the U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court order. In a recent hearing, the lower court made the move to ban sales of the companies’ jointly developed drug Praluent for 12 years. It based its argument on the fact that the two infringed patents owned by Amgen Inc, which according to sources has been manufacturing Repatha , a renowned competing drug.
In advising the court, Clement said that it was only in order that the institution invalidated Amgen’s patents. According Reuters.com, Amgen’s patents improperly claimed a broad monopoly on an entire category of antibodies. They are commonly referred to as PCSK9 inhibitors and they do a remarkable job lowering the “bad” cholesterol levels.
Daryl Joseffer,a lawyer representing Agen in the court hearing told the court that the injunction was the only fair move in the dispute. This was after the jury maintained that Amgen’s patents were indeed valid. According to the top lawyer, Amgen’s patents were a true reflection of innovations emanating from a $2 billion investment in research and development.
A patent lawyer at Kroub, Zachary Silbersher has outlined that three judges’ questions frequently put Jossefer on the defensive. He says that raises the suspicion that they could most probably be in favor of Regeneron which he thinks of as unethical.
Silbersher affirmed that much of the argument was directed towards establishing whether or not the trial judge unfairly handicapped Regeneron and Sanofi by blocking the two from unveiling certain evidence in the course of the trial.
A top analyst at the investment banking advisory firm Evercore ISI, Umer Raffat also supported that the case is “leaning more toward Regeneron.”
