Photo/AbbVie website

On June 15th, US pharmaceutical giant AbbVie（ABBV, stock price $138.64, market value $244.6 billion)’s Pharmacyclics unit contends BeiGene (BGNE, stock price $200.21, market value $20.97 billion)’s star drug Brukinsa infringes a patent on its blood cancer drug Imbruvica.

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It"s noticed that Both Imbruvica and Brukinsa are irreversible BTK inhibitors approved in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). In the meantime, Brukinsa is the first anti-cancer drug developed independently by a Chinese company and approved by the FDA.

According to Yang Zekang, co-founder of DL Capital, which focuses on the healthcare industry, AbbVie’s lawsuit against Brukinsa is closely related to the threat Brukinsa poses as it has better effects than IMBRUVICA. 

“Patent lawsuits between US pharmaceutical companies are actually very normal. However, judged from the date of submission, AbbVie likely used some policy loopholes to trap BeiGene’s Brukinsa,” Yang Zekang told NBD.

According to Yang Zekang’s explanation, US pharmaceutical companies’ patent laws are relatively loose and can allow for “unlimited expansion.” The definition of Z’ in AbbVie’s patent is very broad and “can basically trap all irreversible BTKs”.

BeiGene responded that the company attaches great importance to and respects intellectual property rights, and they should be “effective and enforceable.”

In fact, AbbVie has a track record in patent lawsuits. For example, it has won nine consecutive victories in defending its flagship drug Humira’s exclusive rights.

In response to AbbVie’s lawsuit, BeiGene told NBD on June 15th that Brukinsa has established a very complete and rigorous global intellectual property protection system. The company is confident about this and will actively follow up on the progress of this event.

BeiGene’s shares in Hong Kong and mainland China have fallen more than 10% since the announcement. But after BeiGene issued a statement on June 16th stating that it will resolutely defend itself against the lawsuit, market panic significantly eased. On June 16th, BeiGene A shares closed 4.56% higher, H shares 6.07% higher, and US stocks 0.4% lower.

According to Yang Zekang, this lawsuit has two possible results: one is that BeiGene will settle with AbbVie at a relatively small cost; the other is that it will fight a long-term lawsuit until AbbVie’s patent expires. During this period, as long as the court does not ban sales, Brukinsa’s sales in the United States will not be greatly affected.