Perhaps this item belongs in the "Funny Business" blog of my witty colleague Jane Wells, but when I saw this headline cross the Dow Jones Newswire this afternoon under the "Market Talk" blurb they move several times during the trading day, I just had to throw it up on my blog. I didn't know DJ had hired "Linda Richman" to write copy, or maybe Mike Myers needs a little extra income.
The item about a complex court battle between Amgen and Roche is reprinted here in its entirety:
DJ MARKET TALK: Amgen Is Verklempt By Roche's Chutzpah
Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones Edited by John Shipman Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
12:43 (Dow Jones) Amgen (AMGN) has responded to Roche's (RHHBY) court proposal for bringing its Mircera anti-anemia drug to the US by paying a royalty and cutting its price. In a brief, AMGN says Roche has "all the sincerity of a snake-oil salesman" in touting benefits of Mircera's entry to the market. "The only thing more astonishing than Roche's false assertions of its public interests is its chutzpah now in proposing that the court order a license at a royalty rate of 20%." AMGN notes a jury already found Mircera to infringe its patents and that royalties would only compensate it 20c for every dollar of lost sales. (TJG)
Discuss. Talk amongst yourselves.
Questions? Comments? Pharma@cnbc.com