ABBOTT PARK, Illinois—Johnson & Johnson's Centocor unit is getting ready to launch Simponi^® (golimumab), which was recently approved in the US and Canada, but meanwhile has been sued by Abbott Laboratories, maker of the competing product Humira^® (adalimumab). The current allegations of patent infringement follow a pending lawsuit by Centocor and NYU against Abbott, in which the plaintiffs are demanding patent royalties on Humira.

The latest suit maintains that a 2007 patent that Abbott owns is being infringed on by Centocor. The case is Abbott Biotechnology Ltd. v. Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc, 09cv40089, US District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Worcester).

This is unlikely to be the last lawsuit in the crowded field of TNF-alpha inhibitors, which includes Amgen's Enbrel^® (etanercept) and J&J's Remicade^® (infliximab), in addition to Humira and Simponi.

Humira's 2008 sales were $4.5 billion, making it Abbott's biggest drug, and Simponi is expected to be a $1 billion product.