Instead of attempting to defend themselves in expensive, time-consuming patent infringement litigation, all six of the companies with biosimilars for Humira in the pipeline chose to settle with AbbVie. Terms of use Learn how you can make more money with IBD's investing tools, top-performing stock lists, and educational content. Since receiving FDA approval for Humira (adalimumab) in 2002, AbbVie, the drugs manufacturer, has filed hundreds of submissions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for secondary patents almost half of which were filed after 2014, just two years before the expiration of its core patent. Learn how your comment data is processed. 2000-2022 Investor's Business Daily, LLC. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. The group also said AbbVie violated antitrust law with agreements to settle patent lawsuits with competitors in exchange for promises not to introduce Humira biosimilars in the United States until 2023. The next closest drug was Merck's Keytruda at $14.4 billion. (Reuters) - AbbVie Inc has agreed to pay $24 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged insurance fraud by the drugmaker in promoting its blockbuster drug Humira, Californias insurance regulator said on Thursday. AbbVie pays $24 million to settle lawsuit over using 'nurse ambassadors' to boost Humira sales. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said AbbVie has paid $24 million to California and the whistleblower, a registered nurse who brought the case to the departments attention in October 2016. Humira, a drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and other autoimmune diseases, is one of the most successful drugs ever, with 2019 sales of $19.2 billion and regularly topping the. Divan noted thatAmgen (AMGN), Bayer (BAYRY) and Gilead Sciences (GILD) also have faced lawsuits in the past year for their nurse educator programs. "As an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company, we will continue to develop novel cures for the toughest health challenges and rely on a robust patent system to protect that investment in innovation.". Humira has been the world's top-selling drug since 2012, generating $20 . Investors allege AbbVie misled the public about the effect a kickback scheme uncovered by the California Department of Insurance in 2018 had on the value of . Some of the conditions that Humira and other Adalimumab-based drugs are frequently prescribed to treat include arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, and other . Humira, the company's flagship arthritis treatment, brought in sales of $3.97 billion in the latest quarter. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Humira generated $18.4 billion in sales in 2017. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. | It was this illegal marketing scheme that deceived investors and, in part, led to Humira's success, the Delaware lawsuit claims. Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in adults. Divan calls for global Humira sales to approach $20 billion in 2018. The California Department of Insurance has announced a settlement agreement with AbbVie Inc. to resolve a lawsuit alleging the pharmaceutical giant violated the California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (Act) by providing kickbacks to healthcare providers throughout California relating to the sale of its blockbuster immunosuppressive drug Humira. Humira is the highest grossing prescription drug in the United States with over $16 billion in sales in 2020 (nearly $20Bn globally). | In June 2019, AbbVie's AndroGel testosterone lawsuits settled for $775 million. We review all applications on a case-by-case basis. AbbVie is providing these links to you only as a convenience and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the linked site by AbbVie. Privacy policy Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Raymond says the "California suit (is) not the best headline for AbbVie for the industry." Among other things, the regulator had alleged AbbVie violated Californias Insurance Frauds Prevention Act by unlawfully providing free and valuable professional goods and services to physicians to induce and reward Humira prescriptions. Currently approved for 13 indications, Humira sales increased 8.2% in 2018 to almost $20 billion backed . California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said insurance companies paid more than $1.2 billion for Humira for California . Without the ability to claim Noerr-Pennington immunity as a default strategy, defendants, such as AbbVie in In Re: Humira, would have to show through a formal First Amendment analysis that their petitioning of the government qualifies for First Amendment protection and immunity from antitrust claims. 19-cv-1873, Judge Shah of the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a consolidated class action complaint filed by U.S. purchasers of AbbVie Inc.'s blockbuster biologic drug Humira alleging that AbbVie had prevented manufacturers of competing biosimilar drugs ("biosimilars") from entering the U.S. market in . In 2019 alone, Humira generated $19.7 billion in revenue, an impressive financial return attributable mainly to its high price of $72 000 per year. Site map Biden Approval Rating, Economy Weigh On Democrats' Midterm Election Hopes, Biden Job Approval, Direction Of Country: IBD/TIPP Poll. It accounted for nearly two-thirds of revenue for AbbVie. In 2019, a group of third-party payors for Humira (including union benefit funds, health insurers, and local governments) filed a novel class-action antitrust lawsuit against AbbVie, claiming that the Humira patent thicket and related settlements were anticompetitive in violation of 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act (In Re: Humira [Adalimumab] Antitrust Litigation). Participation in our program is free; we do not collect any fees from people seeking our assistance. While political petitioning and political speech are strongly protected by the First Amendment, commercial speech, the purpose of which is solely to promote a commercial transaction or is related to the parties economic interests, receives lesser protection. A California lawsuit against biopharma giant AbbVie (ABBV) alleging that it made kickbacks to health care providers to get $1.2 billion in insurance payouts could set a damaging precedent for the drugmaking industry in another way, an analyst says. Lawsuits had been filed claiming that the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, failed to warn thousands of men about the potential side effects of the drug. It is noteworthy that the court considered patent applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to be a form of petitioning, and therefore covered by Noerr-Pennington and immune to antitrust action. In this manner, AbbVie has been able to control the U.S. market and continue to increase the price of one of the worlds best-selling drugs relentlessly. This thicket was insurmountable for biosimilars needing to litigate their way through it towards freedom to operate for biosimilar versions. One of its patents was set to expire recently, and this would have opened up the market to less-expensive generic biosimilars. Law360 (October 13, 2020, 9:09 PM EDT) -- Consumer advocates, academics and a drug store industry group all have urged the Seventh Circuit to revive a lawsuit claiming AbbVie . Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or . | AbbVie Sued Over Systematic Fraud. 20-2402. If you purchased ABBV securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit AbbVie Inc. Under the terms of the resolution, AbbVie will grant BI a non-exclusive license to its HUMIRA-related intellectual property in the United States. The lawsuit involved an antitrust claim against the Humira patent estate and made a novel antitrust claim that AbbVie used its "patent thicket" as part of an anticompetitive scheme . 11/07/2022 Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School For the plans: Thomas Sobol of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, For AbbVie: James Hurst of Kirkland & Ellis, 7th Circuit urged to revive 'patent minefield' suit over AbbVie's Humira, Judge dismisses antitrust lawsuit against AbbVie over Humira 'patent thicket', U.S. senators ask regulators to clear drug patent 'thickets', Lawmakers say AbbVie exploits U.S. patents to protect Humira profits, price hikes. September 27th, 2018. NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced that it has resolved all U.S. HUMIRA (adalimumab) litigation with Alvotech. Nurses paid by drug companies facing scrutiny as whistleblower lawsuits mount. Subscribe for email alerts Some scholars believe that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine has been misused in antitrust cases by some judges who apply it as a default in lieu of conducting a formal First Amendment analysis. Copyright 2022 AbbVie Inc. North Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Divan calls for "fairly rapid European Union sales erosion" for Humira later this year. Within the resulting BPCIA litigations, AbbVie would put over 60 to 80 patents on the table. Should You Buy A Stock Ahead Of Its Earnings Report? Easterbrook wrote for a three-judge panel. Find out November 4th. AbbVie's successful efforts to impede Humira's (adalimumab) biosimilar entry are difficult for other pharma players to emulate given its relatively large patent portfolio and aggressive legal strategy, said legal experts. On February 25, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments in UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund v.AbbVie Inc. (Case No. Gregory Curfman, M.D. Further, political scrutiny on drug prices remains. Humira, an arthritis medication with indications for colitis and psoriasis is the world's best-selling drug, but while its efficacy and benefit to millions cannot be understated it has not been all plain sailing for AbbVie, the drug's manufacturer. Through Q3 2021 Humira has generated $15.4 billion in sales. The 7th Circuit upheld the decision on Monday. A lawsuit filed Tuesday in California claims that pharmaceutical company AbbVie used cash, gifts, and services to induce doctors to overprescribe the widely used drug Humira, ignoring the medicine's potentially lethal side effects. Easy: Look For Heavy Distribution. Realtime quote and/or trade prices are not sourced from all markets. One antitrust authority, Timothy Wu, has called for Noerr-Pennington to be overturned. Earlier this summer, Judge Manish Shah of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a lawsuit against AbbVie and biosimilar manufacturers of the drug Humira (adalimumab). Get market updates, educational videos, webinars, and stock analysis. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Under the terms of the resolution, AbbVie will grant Alvotech a non-exclusive license to its HUMIRA-related patents in the United States, which will begin on July 1, 2023. AbbVie stock fell Wednesday. At Consumer Alert Now, we will help you evaluate your case and ensure that your legal rights are . CHECKLIST FOR SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION . The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. Wilmington, DE On May 17, an investor sued AbbVie, alleging that the manufacturer of Humira defrauded investors by permitting the company to . Patients would surely benefit from this outcome. Of those patients, 34% are enrolled in plans that have copay accumulator plans for 2018. YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEAVE FOR A 3RD PARTY WEBSITE. This moves the "financial burden of biologics and specialty drugs from insurers to manufacturers and patients," Raymond said. These patents were largely directed to methods of use and potential formulation changes, but they did not include claims that affect the clinical efficacy of the biologic, which is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Crohns disease, and psoriasis, among other conditions. (Reuters) - AbbVie Inc has agreed to pay $24 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged insurance fraud by the drugmaker in promoting its blockbuster drug Humira, California's insurance. AbbVie's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira will see even more competition next year, as AbbVie and biosimilar developer Alvotech settled a court dispute over when the company's . AbbVie thinks these two treatments can bring in $15 billion in sales by 2025, which would more than makeup for Humira's LOE. But when a biosimilar manufacturer attempts to enter the market, it must do so without infringing the brand companys patents on the original biologic. Ryan Knox, J.D. Notice: Information contained herein is not and should not be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell securities. AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative advanced therapies for some of the world's most complex and critical conditions. AbbVie sued an Icelandic pharmaceutical company for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets in order to develop a generic version of AbbVie's rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira . The U.S. license for BI will beginon July 1, 2023. If you or a loved one experience adverse side effects after using HUMIRA, or any other dangerous drugs and defective medical devices, contact Consumer Alert Now at our business number (800) 511-0747. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to markedly improve treatments across four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. ", "Weak patents are valid," Easterbrook said. AbbVie's Headquarters via abbvie.com Humira - The Pharmaceutical Goliath. Nurses from AbbVie's Humira Ambassadors Program train patients to give themselves injections that treat forms of arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn's disease. The Petrie-Flom Center staff often posts updates, announcements, and guests posts on behalf of others. A class action lawsuit has been filed by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 (UFCW Local 1500) against AbbVie for alleged use of a patent thicket to maintain a monopoly for its brand-name adalimumab, Humira. A lawsuit against biopharma giant AbbVie regarding Humira could set a damaging precedent for the drug-making industry. HUMIRA may prevent further damage to your bones and joints and may help your ability to perform daily activities. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. Reprints. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. It had sales of over $12 billion in 2017, according to the lawsuit. Instead, the purpose of the secondary patent filings was to assemble a thicket of patents, 132 in all, to prohibit competition from biosimilar companies. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. The information has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable; however no guarantee is made or implied with respect to its accuracy, timeliness, or completeness. He notes so-called copay-accumulator schemes are becoming more common. Forward-Looking Statements Your Nurse Ambassador is committed to helping you get off to a good start on HUMIRA, and stay on track with your treatment plan. the lawsuit, filed in california superior court in alameda, california, alleges that abbvie actions constituted a far-reaching scheme to maximize profits and the number of prescriptions of humira that included "classic" kickbacksincluding cash, meals, drinks, gifts, trips, and patient referralsbut also leveraged new and more sophisticated In the U.S., biosimilars will begin launching in 2023. By Manasi Vaidya. AbbVie has filed a lawsuit alleging that Iceland-based biosimilar developer Alvotech recruited a former AbbVie employee to steal trade secrets in order to produce a biosimilar of AbbVie's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira (adalimumab). Given this, the Humira puchasers' lawsuit alleged that AbbVie created a veritable "thicket" of patents. AbbVie Inc. said it's settled a legal dispute with an Icelandic drug company regarding Humira. 2021 AbbVie H-APP1-21K-2A November 2021 APPLICATION FOR HUMIRA (adalimumab) myAbbVie Assist provides free medicine to qualifying patients. Unless otherwise specified, all product names appearing in this Internet site are trademarks owned by or licensed to AbbVie Inc., its subsidiaries or affiliates. By Ed Silverman and Karen Weintraub. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebookor LinkedIn. hagens berman is one of three court-appointed co-lead law firms selected to lead a nationwide class-action lawsuit against drug manufacturers abbvie, amgen, samsung bioepis, and sandoz for violating federal antitrust laws, the suit accuses defendants of delaying lower-priced biosimilar competitors and causing drug purchasers to overpay for The lawsuit names 12 current and former board members or management executives of AbbVie as defendants. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The State of California has filed suit against drug maker AbbVie, alleging that the company provided kickbacks to healthcare providers throughout the state to encourage them to prescribe its brand-name adalimumab, Humira, and used a network of registered nurses to mislead patients about the risks associated with the drug. Expiration of the core patent on a biologic agent would ordinarily trigger entry of biosimilar competitors. A group of welfare-benefit plans that pay for Humira sued AbbVie in Chicago federal court in 2019, alleging its patent collection created an illegal monopoly by scaring off potential competitors. March 22, 2021. The last major legal standoff for a Humira biosimilar has ended, as AbbVie and Boehringer Ingelheim announced Tuesday a settlement of patent litigation over the U.S. entry date. Raymond expects those numbers to grow. Humira, the companys flagship arthritis treatment, brought in sales of $3.97 billion in the latest quarter. The biologic treatment is widely prescribed to. The 2019 purchase of Allergan, which makes Botox and other drugs . When you've enrolled in HUMIRA Complete, you'll receive a phone call from your dedicated Nurse Ambassador. In 2019, the group of Humira buyers filed a complaint in the district court alleging, inter alia, that AbbVie "applied for, obtained, and asserted patents to gain the power it needed to elbow . Under agreements with AbbVie, Biogen (BIIB) and Amgen are set to launch Humira biosimilars next month in Europe. As a result, the site may contain information on pharmaceuticals . This area is reserved for members of the news media. NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced that it has resolved U.S. HUMIRA (adalimumab) litigation with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI). In a recent decision in In Re Humira (Adalimumab) Antitrust Litigation), No. (Our lawyers are still taking testosterone lawsuits in 2022. AbbVie's 132 patents related to Humira do not violate antitrust law, U.S. is a Senior Research Fellow with the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School. But sales are facing a number of obstacles. Before engaging, please read and adhere to our established community guidelines for each channel. How Do You Spot A Major Market Top? HUMIRA (adalimumab) 40mg/0.8mL solution for SC inj by AbbVie. Join us on 11/9 and get top trade ideas for stocks and options from IBDs experts. Reach him at blake.brittain@thomsonreuters.com. It accounted for nearly two-thirds of revenue for AbbVie. Chicago-based AbbVie and attorneys for the challengers to AbbVie's practices did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The decision leaves competitors who want to offer biosimilar drugscheaper versions of complex . In In Re: Humira, the central question was whether petitioning the government with hundreds of secondary patent applications is protected by the First Amendment and therefore qualifies for Noerr-Pennington immunity. Get these newsletters delivered to your inbox & more info about our products & services. "AbbVie management (previously indicated) 3%-5% of U.S. Humira patients were impacted.". 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The doctrine states that petitioning the government, as a form of speech, is protected by the First Amendments petition and free speech clauses and, even if the petitioning is anticompetitive, is immune from antitrust action. Humira has been hailed as the best-selling drug in the world. On the stock market today, AbbVie stock dipped 1.7%, to 91.02. The Delaware lawsuit was filed after news of AbbVie's alleged kickback scheme became public and caused the company's stock price to drop. patents. Humira is the top selling drug in the world. With such a dense thicket of patents surrounding Humira, it was virtually impossible for biosimilar companies to attempt market entry without infringing at least some of the patents. In more than 75 countries, AbbVie employees are working every day to advance health solutions for people around the world. Adalimumab, better known by its brand name "Humira", is a type of pharmaceutical drug that is prescribed to treat medical conditions that cause inflammation. It is used to treat conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. AbbVie will make no payments of any form to BI. Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie has agreed to a $24 million settlement that will require it to change its marketing practices for its immunology drug Humira, California Insurance Commissioner. Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook said Monday, rejecting claims that the patents wrongly kept generic competitors out of the market years after the original patent on Humira expired. The consumer welfare standard, which was popularized by Judge Robert H. Bork, is based on whether consumers pay a higher price for goods and services as a result of the alleged anticompetitive conduct. BREAKING: Market Holding Steady Before Election. One of the principal criteria defining anticompetitive conduct that may be a target for antitrust claims is whether the conduct harms consumer welfare. 11/07/2022 Humira may increase the risk of nerve damage, cancer, and fungal infections. The patent that covers Humira itself expired in 2016, but the last of the 132 other patents related to the drug expires in 2034. Cookie Settings. Take advantage of volatility with SwingTrader, IBDs one-stop shop for swing trade ideas. AbbVie assumes no duty to update the information to reflect subsequent developments. Biden warns on risk to democracy, Trump hints at another run on eve of midterms, Theranos founder Holmes denied request for new trial, court filings show, Abortion and voting rights at stake in tight U.S. governors' races, Analysis: Airlines reboot as COVID sparks a revolution in one-day business trips, Forum: Litigation finance as a multi-tool for corporate law departments, How municipal lawyers can help in the fight against climate change, Boies, Hausfeld among law firms reaping $667 mln windfall in Blue Cross antitrust case, Insights in Action: Differing perceptions of stand-out lawyers skill sets, See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays, AbbVie's 132 patents did not illegally monopolize drug -court, U.S. senators recently criticized similar 'patent thickets'. Yet, in June 2020, Judge Manish Shah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the case. Boehringer can begin selling its copycat of the world's best-selling drug on July 1, 2023, paying royalties to AbbVie for the U.S. license, according to the settlement. The Judge also ruled that AbbVies settlements with the biosimilar companies delaying their U.S. market entry and permitting European market entry did not constitute pay-for-delay tactics, which may also be anticompetitive. You are about to leave the AbbVie website. It has been the major driver of AbbVie's growth in recent years but faces expirations . Tell us and you could win one of ten $50 gift cards! And so far, the strategy has worked. Next January, the first copycat version of Humira, an injectable drug approved for an array of inflammatory diseases, is set to launch in the U.S. Its arrival will mark the end of a two-decade run of market exclusivity during which Humira's maker, AbbVie, has earned nearly $200 billion from sales of the drug. The product-specific site Internet site that you have requested is intended for the residents of a particular country or countries, as noted on that site. New research suggests copay-accumulator plans are spreading. As readers of this blog may recall, in September 2020, Alvotech USA filed a BLA for AVT02, a biosimilar of AbbVie's 100 mg/mL citrate-free Humira formulation. BI will pay royalties to AbbVie for licensing its HUMIRA patents and acknowledges the validity and enforceability of the licensed patents. Despite the obvious anticompetitive activity and harm to consumers reflected by the exorbitant price of Humira, the company has walked away unscathed by the antitrust claim for now. Humira generated $18.4 billion in sales in 2017. AbbVie said in a statement it was glad the settlement allows its nurse ambassador program to continue with no significant changes and noted that some parallel cases have been dismissed in other courts. The complaint also alleges that AbbVie and a number of its biosimilar competitors colluded to divide the market for adalimumab . "This could mean a 1%-3% drag on total revenue and 3%-6% drag on earnings per share (in 2019).". Easterbrook said some major tech companies have significantly bigger patent portfolios, and that "Thomas Edison alone held 1,093 U.S. The court also said that AbbVie's patent-litigation settlements not unlawful "pay-for-delay" agreements. AbbVie used "nurse ambassadors" to market drug. In 2020 it generated $19.8 billion worth of sales. Alvotech today filed a federal lawsuit seeking to end the monopoly that pharmaceutical giant AbbVie has long-maintained on the adalimumab market, sold as Humira. In 2019, indirect purchasers of Humira claimed that AbbVie's vast portfolio of patents covering Humira and settlements over those patents violated US antitrust law. 20-2402), a case appealed from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by a group of Humira buyers (including consumer groups, drug wholesalers, and unions) accusing AbbVie of using "patent thicket" around Humira to . The "Yes" link below will take you out of the AbbVie family of websites. However, it is also notorious for topping the list of drugs with the most adverse event reports reaching the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.People who say they or their loved ones experienced life-altering effects from the drug have sued its manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories (now spun off as AbbVie Inc.), claiming negligence. The case is Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. AbbVie Inc, 7th U.S. "We also wonder how lawsuits such as this one may impact marketing practices across the industry if these lawsuits may limit how companies can support patient adherence to their products," Divan said. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to look into curbing what critics call "patent thickets" like Humira's in June. It has been the major driver of AbbVies growth in recent years but faces expirations of its patents in U.S. in 2023. Humira is one of the best-selling drugs in the world, with global annual sales of over $20 billion in 2021. The plaintiffs argued that this so-called "patent thicket," where . But it's also not the biggest hurdle for AbbVie's Humira in the near-term, Raymond said in his note to clients. is the Senior Advisor and Physician Scholar in Residence for the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School. AbbVie denied the allegations, but agreed to look into how Humira is marketed to health care providers in the state, the regulator said. Last year, the drugmaker projected that Humira sales were on track to hit $21 billion in 2020. Just no longer involving this testosterone supplement.) This week, the website Drug Channels highlighted 49 plans covering 147 million lives. The "anti-kickback lawsuit targets somewhat common practices," Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan said in a note to clients late Tuesday. If you qualify, please. The Judges ruling was based on a legal principle known as the NoerrPennington doctrine. It accuses them of violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute by . (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday affirmed that AbbVie Inc did not unlawfully block competition by building up a "thicket" of patents related to its blockbuster arthritis drug Humira. Humira is one of the top-selling drugs in the world and represents the majority of AbbVie's business.