WASHINGTON – Open Markets Institute filed an amicus brief on Monday with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund v. AbbVie, Inc. The plaintiffs accuse AbbVie of inappropriately perpetuating a thicket of patents protecting its best-selling biologic drug Humira, in order to extend its monopoly for up to three more decades. In building a thicket of 247 patents and pending patents on Humira, AbbVie’s conduct amounts to abuse of the patent system and illegal monopolization.

Even though AbbVie had persuaded the district court that its patent filings were protected “petitioning” of the government, the brief argues that the district court should have evaluated AbbVie’s patent applications and lawsuits as a series of sham filings. Corporations that serially abuse patents and other regulatory processes, as Big Pharma continually does, can exclude rivals and maintain their market dominance. 

This amicus brief argues that antitrust law should apply to pharma giant AbbVie’s indiscriminate patenting to extend monopoly on autoimmune medication Humira

In response, Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director of Open Markets Institute, issued the following statement:

“The federal courts are bound to apply the antitrust laws and protect the public from corporate misconduct. This is especially important when it comes to monopolization of essential medications like Humira. AbbVie weaponized administrative and judicial processes to extend its monopoly on Humira even after the main patent had expired. 

“In the face of a monopolist’s scorched earth patenting policy, would‐be rivals may delay or even terminate plans to enter a market. That’s what is happening with Humira. We urge the Seventh Circuit to reverse the district court’s improper granting of AbbVie’s motion to dismiss and allow the case to proceed to discovery. AbbVie’s patent abuses block competition for a medication used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other debilitating autoimmune conditions.” 

Read the full brief below or download here.