Nobody doubts that the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research has made important contributions to the treatment of arthritis. But the London-based research center overreached by demanding more patent royalties from drugmaker and longtime licensee AbbVie Inc. (formerly Abbott Laboratories Inc.), an appeals court ruled Thursday.
In a 28-page ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision invalidating one of the Kennedy Trust’s patents on the blockbuster arthritis drug Humira, which is sold by AbbVie. The institute had hoped to use the patent to wring royalties out of AbbVie until 2018.
