COHERUS FILES TWO MORE IPR PETITIONS AGAINST HUMIRA BUFFER-LESS PATENT FOR A TOTAL OF SIX

            Coherus BioSciences, Inc. filed an additional two IPR petitions on top of the four it had already filed against a single Humira Patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,085,619. At first glance, one might think that the ‘619 Patent is a crucial patent since Coherus filed six IPR petitions against the ‘619 Patent.  However, the ‘619 patent is not on the list of Humira patents that Abbvie alleged Amgen’s Humira biosimilar (Amjevita) infringed, implying that Amjevita may have a buffer and perhaps Coherus' biosimilar version of Humira does not have a buffer. 

            Independent claim 16 of the ’619 Patent covers formulations of adalimumab (Humira) in water without a “buffering system.”  According to Coherus, it was known for decades that a protein, by itself, can provide buffer capacity and that a protein’s buffer capacity comes from the acidic or basic side chains of certain of its constituent amino acids.   For additional analysis of the Coherus IPR petitions, see this previous post:  <http://biopharmapatent.blogspot.com/2017/02/coherus-files-four-ipr-petitions.html>

AIA Review #	Filing Date	Institution Decision Date	Petitioner	PO/Respondent Patent #	PO/Respondent	Status
IPR2017-00822	01/31/2017		Coherus BioSciences, Inc.	9085619	AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.	Pending
IPR2017-00823	01/31/2017		Coherus BioSciences, Inc.	9085619	AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.	Pending
IPR2017-00826	01/31/2017		Coherus BioSciences, Inc.	9085619	AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.	Pending
IPR2017-00827	01/31/2017		Coherus BioSciences Inc.	9085619	AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.	Pending
IPR2017-01008	03/02/2017		Coherus BioSciences, Inc.	9085619	AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.	Pending
IPR2017-01009	03/02/2017		Coherus BioSciences, Inc.	9085619	AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd.	Pending