AbbVie Says BeiGene Cancer Drug Infringes New Imbruvica Patent

AbbVie Inc.'s Pharmacyclics alleges BeiGene Ltd.‘s Brukinsa blood-cancer drug—whose US sales more than doubled after its approval in January for two key treatment indications—infringes a patent covering its Imbruvica that was issued Tuesday.

Pharmacyclics LLC filed the complaint later the same day in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. It appears to be the AbbVie unit’s first patent-infringement lawsuit over Brukinsa, according to Bloomberg Law data.

Amgen Inc. in 2019 paid $2.7 billion for a 20.5% stake in Beijing-based BeiGene. Two weeks later, Brukinsa became the first Chinese cancer drug approved for sale in the US. ...