BMS, Pfizer Snag Appeals Court Victory for Blockbuster Eliquis

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a prior victory for Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer covering two Eliquis (apixaban) patents, positioning the companies to keep exclusivity in the U.S. for the blockbuster oral anticoagulant until April 1, 2028. 

The case hinged on the drug’s composition of matter patent and a formulation patent. In a court ruling in August 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware found that the two patents in question were valid and infringed.

Bristol Myers and Pfizer, who began collaborating on the drug in 2007 and share profits and losses on Eliquis on a 40/60 basis, had settled with several generic companies looking to grab a piece of Eliquis’ market share. But the four generic companies, Sigmapharm, Sunshine Lake Pharma, Hec Pharm and Unichem, decided instead to take their challenges to court to appeal last summer’s ruling.

“We believe in the value of science behind Eliquis and its therapeutic potential for patients, and the underlying intellectual property protecting these innovations,” Bristol Myers and Pfizer said in a joint statement.