FTC Challenges Amgen's Patent Play in Enbrel Antitrust Case

By Dean Seal

The Federal Trade Commission told a federal judge that Amgen's acquisition of rights to patent applications related to its arthritis drug Enbrel is subject to antitrust scrutiny.

The agency has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in private antitrust litigation that claims Amgen illegally acquired the rights to patent applications that it then shaped to cover Enbrel and eliminate low-cost competitors.

A federal judge already denied Amgen's motion to dismiss the case, which Amgen has since appealed on the grounds that its acquisition of patent applications, as opposed to issued patents, were immune from antitrust liability.

The FTC's filing doesn't technically support Amgen or CareFirst of Maryland, the lawsuit's plaintiff. But it does state that Amgen's arguments on appeal cut against the longstanding framework that acquiring a patent can violate antitrust laws if it boosts the purchaser's market power.

Patent applications can provide unique strategic advantages that can lead to more anticompetitive harm than acquiring an issued patent, the agency argued.

"Amgen's novel and sweeping arguments find no support in case law and, if accepted, would pose a substantial threat to competition," the FTC said.

The agency said it filed the brief because of its focus on making prescription drugs more affordable by promotion competition.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2026 13:33 ET (17:33 GMT)