Jury Rules Roche Infringes Amgen's EPO Patents

A jury in the US Federal District Court in Boston ruled on October 23, 2007, that Roche's pegylated-erythropoietin (peg-EPO) product, Mircera, infringes 11 Amgen EPO patent claims.

Amgen (Thousand Oaks, CA) will now seek an injunction to prevent Roche (Basel, Switzerland) from commercializing its peg-EPO product in the US. The injunction hearing is scheduled for November 15, 2007.

Roche is currently evaluating its legal options, including the possibility of an appeal, and maintains its position that all of Amgen’s patents for epoetin asserted against Roche are invalid and not infringed. Roche believes the facts and the law support that position.