A federal court in Boston ruled that Roche’s Mircera anemia drug does, indeed, infringe on Amgen’s patents and entered a permanent injunction preventing the big drugmaker from selling its med in the US, according to Amgen. The decision ends a five-year battle in which Roche lost legal maneuver after legal maneuver, including a jury trial (see here).

The judgment was accompanied by Roche’s admission that Amgen patents for Aranesp and Epogen are valid. A limited license agreement will allow Roche, which already sells Mircera in Europe, can market its med in the US in 2014, according to an Amgen statement. There was no financial payment, by the way. The deal has its roots in a ruling last year by a federal judge, who suggested a licensing deal (see here).

Over the past two years, Amgen has struggled with declining Aranesp sales due to safety concerns (see here) and reimbursement restrictions (see here). Worldwide Aranesp sales fell 19 percent in the third quarter to $685 million.

Gavel courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons walknboston