BMS Sues Amgen Over Proposed Opdivo Biosimilar

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Ono Pharmaceutical have filed a lawsuit against Amgen in Delaware federal court, seeking to block the approval of Amgen's proposed biosimilar for Opdivo, a cancer immunotherapy drug.

The lawsuit alleges that Amgen's biosimilar would infringe on seven U.S. patents covering Opdivo, and BMS and Ono have asked the court to block sales of the biosimilar while their patents remain in force.

Opdivo earned BMS more than $5.9 billion in revenue in the United States last year, according to a company report. The drug has been approved to treat advanced or metastatic cancers, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and kidney cancer.