AstraZeneca Sues Samsung Bioepis to Block Soliris Biosimilar (1)

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed its first lawsuit seeking to block a biosimilar version of its blockbuster Soliris, alleging a Samsung Biologics Co. subsidiary infringes six patents for the AstraZeneca Plc unit’s half-million-dollar-per-patient treatment.

Samsung Bioepis Co. on July 7 notified Alexion that it planned to market its biosimilar, called SB12, within 180 days as required by the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, according to a complaint filed Wednesday—exactly 180 days later—in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. Providing such notice is part of the pre-litigation exchange between parties known colloquially as the “patent dance.”

Soliris, ...