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Legal Matters | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Legal Matters | Legal Matters From time to time, the Company is a party to legal proceedings in the course of the Company's business. The outcome of any such proceedings, regardless of the merits, is inherently uncertain. If the Company were unable to prevail in any such proceedings, its consolidated financial position, results of operations, and future cash flows may be materially impacted. Costs associated with the Company's involvement in legal proceedings are expensed as incurred. The Company recognizes accruals for loss contingencies associated with such proceedings when it is probable that a liability will be incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. As of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company's accruals for loss contingencies were not material. There are certain loss contingencies that the Company deems reasonably possible for which the possible loss or range of possible loss is not estimable at this time. Proceedings Relating to Praluent (alirocumab) Injection As described below, the Company is currently a party to patent infringement actions initiated by Amgen Inc. (and/or its affiliated entities) against the Company and/or Sanofi (and/or the Company's and Sanofi's respective affiliated entities) in a number of jurisdictions relating to Praluent. In addition, as described below, the Company filed a lawsuit against Amgen alleging that Amgen engaged in an anticompetitive bundling scheme which was designed to exclude Praluent from the market in violation of federal and state laws. United States In the United States, Amgen has asserted claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,829,165 (the "'165 Patent") and 8,859,741 (the "'741 Patent"), and sought a permanent injunction to prevent the Company and the Sanofi defendants from commercial manufacturing, using, offering to sell, or selling within the United States (as well as importing into the United States) (collectively, "Commercializing") Praluent. Amgen also seeks a judgment of patent infringement of the asserted patents, monetary damages (together with interest), costs and expenses of the lawsuits, and attorneys' fees. As previously reported, on February 11, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the "Federal Circuit") affirmed the lower court's decision that certain of Amgen's asserted patent claims are invalid based on lack of enablement. On April 14, 2021, Amgen filed a petition for a rehearing en banc with the Federal Circuit, which was denied on June 21, 2021. On November 4, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted Amgen's petition for writ of certiorari. An oral hearing was held on March 27, 2023. On May 27, 2022, the Company filed a lawsuit against Amgen in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging that, beginning in 2020, Amgen engaged in an anticompetitive bundling scheme which was designed to exclude Praluent from the market in violation of federal and state laws. The lawsuit seeks damages for harm caused by the alleged scheme, as well as injunctive relief restraining Amgen from continuing its alleged anticompetitive conduct. On August 1, 2022, Amgen filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. On August 11, 2022, Amgen filed a motion to stay these proceedings pending resolution of the patent litigation described in the preceding paragraph. An oral hearing on Amgen's motion to dismiss and motion to stay was held on January 6, 2023. On February 10, 2023, the court denied Amgen's motion to stay; and on March 21, 2023, the court denied Amgen's motion to dismiss. A trial has been scheduled to begin in November 2024. Europe Amgen has asserted European Patent No. 2,215,124 (the "'124 Patent"), which pertains to PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies, in certain countries in Europe. In October 2020, the '124 Patent claims directed to compositions of matter and medical use relevant to Praluent were ruled invalid based on a lack of inventive step by the Technical Board of Appeal (the "TBA") of the European Patent Office (the "EPO"). Following the EPO's decision, each of the '124 Patent infringement proceedings initiated by Amgen against the Company and certain of Sanofi's affiliated entities in these countries was dismissed, including in Germany. The dismissal in Germany followed an earlier finding of infringement and granting of an injunction, both of which were subsequently overturned. As a result of the overturned injunction in Germany, the Company and/or certain of Sanofi's affiliated entities are seeking damages caused by Amgen's enforcement of the injunction. As part of its opposition to these damages claims, on March 23, 2022, Amgen filed a counterclaim that asserted the German designation of European Patent No. 2,641,917 (the "'917 Patent") and seeks, among other things, a judgment of patent infringement, injunctive relief, and monetary damages. The '917 Patent is a divisional patent of the '124 Patent discussed above (i.e., a patent that shares the same priority date, disclosure, and patent term of the parent '124 Patent but contains claims to a different invention). The '917 Patent is also subject to opposition proceedings in the EPO, which were initiated by Sanofi on May 5, 2021. An oral hearing before the EPO was held on February 21, 2023, at which the '917 Patent was revoked. Amgen filed a notice to appeal to the TBA of the EPO on February 27, 2023. Proceedings Relating to EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection Certain of the Company's patents pertaining to EYLEA are subject to post-grant proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"), EPO, or other comparable foreign authorities, including those described in greater detail below. In addition, the Company has filed patent infringement lawsuits in several jurisdictions alleging infringement of certain Company patents pertaining to EYLEA, including those described in greater detail below. United States On February 11, 2020, anonymous parties filed two requests for ex parte reexamination of the Company's U.S. Patent Nos. 10,406,226 (the "'226 Patent") and 10,464,992 (the "'992 Patent"), and the USPTO has granted both requests. On May 5, 2021, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed inter partes review ("IPR") petitions in the USPTO against the Company's U.S. Patent Nos. 9,254,338 (the "'338 Patent") and 9,669,069 (the "'069 Patent") seeking declarations of invalidity of the '338 Patent and the '069 Patent. On November 10, 2021, the USPTO issued a decision instituting both IPR proceedings. On December 9, 2021, Apotex Inc. and Celltrion, Inc. each filed two separate IPR petitions against the Company's '338 and '069 Patents requesting that their IPRs be instituted and joined with the IPR proceedings initiated by Mylan concerning the '338 and '069 Patents, which petitions were granted on February 9, 2022. An oral hearing was held on August 10, 2022. On November 9, 2022, the USPTO issued final written decisions finding that the claims of the '338 and '069 Patents are unpatentable and, therefore, invalid. On January 10, 2023, the Company filed notices of appeal of the USPTO written decisions concerning the '338 and '069 Patents with the Federal Circuit. In 2022, Mylan filed IPR petitions against the Company's U.S. Patent Nos. 10,130,681 (the "'681 Patent") and 10,888,601 (the "'601 Patent") (each filed July 1, 2022) and 10,857,205 (the "'205 Patent") (filed October 28, 2022) seeking declarations of invalidity of each of these patents. On January 11, 2023, the USPTO instituted IPR proceedings concerning the '681 Patent and the '601 Patent. On February 21, 2023, the Company filed a Notice of Disclaimer with the USPTO, disclaiming all claims of the '205 Patent; and, as a result, on March 1, 2023, the USPTO denied institution of Mylan's IPR petition against the '205 Patent. On January 6, 2023 and March 26, 2023, Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. filed separate IPR petitions against the Company's '681 Patent and '601 Patent, respectively, seeking declarations of invalidity of such patents. On September 9, 2022, Apotex filed an IPR petition against the Company's U.S. Patent No. 11,253,572 (the "'572 Patent") seeking a declaration of invalidity of the '572 Patent. On March 10, 2023, the USPTO declined to institute an IPR proceeding concerning the '572 Patent. On April 27, 2023, Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. filed a separate IPR petition against the '572 Patent seeking a declaration of invalidity of the '572 Patent. On January 17, 2023 and February 28, 2023, Celltrion filed IPR petitions against the '992 Patent and the '226 Patent, respectively, seeking declarations of invalidity of such patents. On August 2, 2022, the Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Mylan in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia alleging that Mylan's filing for a U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of an aflibercept biosimilar infringes certain Company patents. On April 20, 2023, Mylan filed a motion for summary judgment or partial summary judgment concerning four of the asserted patents. On April 26, 2023, the Company filed a stipulation accepting summary judgment of noninfringement of all asserted claims of the Company's U.S. Patent No. 11,104,715. A trial has been scheduled to begin on June 12, 2023 concerning certain claims of the '601 Patent, the '572 Patent, and the Company's U.S. Patent No. 11,084,865. Europe On October 26 and October 27, 2021, anonymous parties initiated opposition proceedings in the EPO against the Company's European Patent No. 2,944,306 (the "'306 Patent") seeking revocation of the '306 Patent in its entirety. Canada On June 15, July 15, August 30, and October 4, 2022, the Company and Bayer Inc. filed patent infringement lawsuits against BGP Pharma ULC d.b.a Viatris Canada ("Viatris Canada") in the Federal Court of Canada seeking a declaration that the making, constructing, using, or selling of an aflibercept biosimilar would directly or indirectly infringe one or more claims of the Company's Canadian Patent Nos. 2,654,510 (the "'510 Patent) and 3,007,276 (the "'276 Patent") (in the lawsuit filed on June 15, 2022); the Company's Canadian Patent No. 2,965,495 (the "'495 Patent") (in the lawsuit filed on July 15, 2022); the Company's Canadian Patent No. 2,906,768 (the "'768 Patent") (in the lawsuit filed on August 30, 2022, which has been joined with the lawsuit filed on July 15, 2022); and the Company's Canadian Patent No. 3,129,193 (the "'193 Patent") (in the lawsuit filed on October 4, 2022). A trial for the lawsuit concerning the '510 Patent and the '276 Patent has been scheduled for March 2024; a trial for the lawsuit concerning the '193 Patent has been scheduled for May 2024; and a trial for the lawsuit concerning the '495 Patent and the '768 Patent has been scheduled for November/December 2024. The filing of the lawsuit concerning the '510 Patent and the '276 Patent resulted in a statutory 24-month stay of regulatory approval of Viatris Canada's aflibercept biosimilar in Canada unless the lawsuit is resolved earlier. On March 27, 2023, in light of the transfer of the New Drug Submission ("NDS") discussed below, the Company filed a motion in the Federal Court of Canada seeking termination of the Viatris Canada action relating to the '510 Patent and the '276 Patent in the Federal Court of Canada. On March 23, 2023, following the transfer of Viatris Canada's NDS of its aflibercept biosimilar to Biosimilar Collaborations Ireland Limited ("BCIL"), the Company and Bayer Inc. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against BCIL in the Federal Court of Canada seeking a declaration that the making, constructing, using, or selling of an aflibercept biosimilar would directly or indirectly infringe one or more claims of the Company's '510 and '276 Patents. South Korea On October 31, 2022 and December 13, 2022, Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. initiated invalidation proceedings before the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board of the Korean Intellectual Property Office against the Company's Korean Patent Nos. 1131429 and 1406811, respectively, seeking revocation of each of such patents in its entirety. On January 16, 2023, the Company filed patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. and its parent Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. before the Seoul Central District Court seeking a declaration that the making, constructing, using, or selling of an aflibercept biosimilar would infringe one or more claims of Company's Korean Patent No. 659477 (the "'477 Patent"). On March 2, 2023, the Company filed an affirmative scope confirmation action against Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. before the Intellectual Property Tribunal and Appeal Board of the Korean Intellectual Property Office seeking a ruling that Samsung Bioepis's aflibercept biosimilar is covered by the claims of the '477 Patent. On March 7, 2023, the action was designated for expedited proceedings. Proceedings Relating to EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection Pre-filled Syringe On June 19, 2020, Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and Novartis Technology LLC (collectively, "Novartis") filed a patent infringement lawsuit (as amended on August 2, 2021) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York asserting claims of Novartis's U.S. Patent No. 9,220,631 (the "'631 Patent") and seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent the Company from continuing to infringe the '631 Patent. Novartis also seeks a judgment of patent infringement of the '631 Patent, monetary damages (together with interest), an order of willful infringement of the '631 Patent (which would allow the court in its discretion to award damages up to three times the amount assessed), costs and expenses of the lawsuits, and attorneys' fees. On November 7, 2022, the Company and Novartis entered into a stipulation staying the lawsuit in light of the decision in the IPR proceeding discussed below. On July 16, 2020, the Company initiated two IPR petitions in the USPTO seeking a declaration of invalidity of the '631 Patent on two separate grounds. On October 26, 2021, the USPTO issued a decision instituting the IPR proceeding. An oral hearing was held on July 21, 2022. On October 25, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") of the USPTO issued a final written decision invalidating all claims of the '631 Patent. On December 23, 2022, Novartis filed a notice of appeal of the PTAB's decision to the Federal Circuit. On July 17, 2020, the Company filed an antitrust lawsuit against Novartis and Vetter Pharma International Gmbh ("Vetter") in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking a declaration that the '631 Patent is unenforceable and a judgment that the defendants' conduct violates Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, as amended (the "Sherman Antitrust Act"). The Company is also seeking injunctive relief and treble damages. On September 4, 2020, Novartis filed, and Vetter moved to join, a motion to dismiss the complaint, to transfer the lawsuit to the Northern District of New York, or to stay the suit; and on October 19, 2020, Novartis filed, and Vetter moved to join, a second motion to dismiss the complaint on different grounds. On January 25, 2021, the Company filed an amended complaint seeking a judgment that Novartis's conduct violates Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act based on additional grounds, as well as a judgment of tortious interference with contract. On February 22, 2021, Novartis filed, and Vetter moved to join, a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On September 21, 2021, the court granted Novartis and Vetter's motion to transfer this lawsuit to the Northern District of New York. As a result, this lawsuit was transferred to the same judge that had been assigned to the patent infringement lawsuit discussed above. On November 5, 2021, the Company filed a motion to stay these proceedings in light of the pending IPR proceeding discussed above. On January 31, 2022, the court denied the Company's motion to stay these proceedings and granted Novartis and Vetter's motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On June 10, 2022, the Company filed an appeal of the District Court's decision to dismiss the amended complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Proceedings Relating to REGEN-COV (casirivimab and imdevimab) On October 5, 2020, Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Allele") filed a lawsuit (as amended on April 8, 2021 and December 12, 2022) against the Company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 10,221,221 (the "'221 Patent"). Allele seeks a judgment of patent infringement of the '221 Patent, an award of monetary damages (together with interest), an order of willful infringement of the '221 Patent (which would allow the court in its discretion to award damages up to three times the amount assessed), costs and expenses of the lawsuit, and attorneys' fees. On July 16, 2021, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, which motion was denied on March 2, 2022. Department of Justice Matters In January 2017, the Company received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts requesting documents relating to its support of 501(c)(3) organizations that provide financial assistance to patients; documents concerning its provision of financial assistance to patients with respect to products sold or developed by Regeneron (including EYLEA, Praluent, ARCALYST®, and ZALTRAP®); and certain other related documents and communications. On June 24, 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts alleging violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and asserting causes of action under the federal False Claims Act and state law. On August 24, 2020, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in its entirety. On December 4, 2020, the court denied the motion to dismiss. On December 28, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a motion for partial summary judgment. On January 31, 2023, the Company filed a motion for summary judgment. In September 2019, the Company and Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, each received a civil investigative demand ("CID") from the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to the federal False Claims Act relating to remuneration paid to physicians in the form of consulting fees, advisory boards, speaker fees, and payment or reimbursement for travel and entertainment allegedly in violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The CIDs relate to EYLEA, Praluent, Dupixent, ZALTRAP, ARCALYST, and Kevzara and cover the period from January 2015 to the present. On June 3, 2021, the United States District Court for the Central District of California unsealed a qui tam complaint filed against the Company, Regeneron Healthcare Solutions, Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC by two qui tam plaintiffs (known as relators) purportedly on behalf of the United States and various states (the "State Plaintiffs"), asserting causes of action under the federal False Claims Act and state law. Also on June 3, 2021, the United States and the State Plaintiffs notified the court of their decision to decline to intervene in the case. On October 29, 2021, the qui tam plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in this matter. On January 14, 2022, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint in its entirety. In June 2021, the Company received a CID from the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to the federal False Claims Act. The CID states that the investigation concerns allegations that the Company (i) violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to distributors and ophthalmology practices to induce purchase of EYLEA, including through discounts, rebates, credit card fees, free units of EYLEA, and inventory management systems; and (ii) inflated reimbursement rates for EYLEA by excluding applicable discounts, rebates, and benefits from the average sales price reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The CID covers the period from January 2011 through June 2021. The Company is cooperating with this investigation. California Department of Insurance Subpoena In September 2022, the Company received a subpoena from the Insurance Commissioner for the State of California pursuant to the California Insurance Code. The subpoena seeks information relating to the marketing, sale, and distribution of EYLEA, including (i) discounts, rebates, credit card fees, and inventory management systems; (ii) Regeneron's relationships with distributors; (iii) price reporting; (iv) speaker programs; and (v) patient support programs. The subpoena covers the period from January 1, 2014 through August 1, 2021. The Company is cooperating with this investigation. Proceedings Initiated by Other Payors Relating to Patient Assistance Organization Support The Company is party to several lawsuits relating to the conduct alleged in the civil complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts discussed under "Department of Justice Matters" above. These lawsuits were filed by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company and United Healthcare Services, Inc. (collectively, "UHC") and Humana Inc. ("Humana") in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on December 17, 2020 and July 22, 2021, respectively; and by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, Inc. (collectively, "BCBS"), Medical Mutual of Ohio ("MMO"), Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. d/b/a Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey ("Horizon"), and Local 464A United Food and Commercial Workers Union Welfare Service Benefit Fund ("Local 464A") in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on December 20, 2021, February 23, 2022, April 4, 2022, and June 17, 2022, respectively. These lawsuits allege causes of action under state law and the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and seek monetary damages and equitable relief. The MMO and Local 464A lawsuits are putative class action lawsuits. On December 29, 2021, the lawsuits filed by UHC and Humana were stayed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York pending resolution of the proceedings before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts discussed under "Department of Justice Matters" above. On September 27, 2022, the lawsuits filed by BCBS, MMO, and Horizon were stayed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts pending resolution of the proceedings before the same court discussed under "Department of Justice Matters" above; and, in light of these stays, the parties to the Local 464A action have also agreed to stay that matter. Proceedings Relating to Shareholder Derivative Complaint On June 29, 2021, an alleged shareholder filed a shareholder derivative complaint in the New York Supreme Court, naming the current and certain former members of the Company's board of directors and certain current and former executive officers of the Company as defendants and Regeneron as a nominal defendant. The complaint asserts that the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties in relation to the allegations in the civil complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts discussed under "Department of Justice Matters" above. The complaint seeks an award of damages allegedly sustained by the Company; an order requiring Regeneron to take all necessary actions to reform and improve its corporate governance and internal procedures; disgorgement from the individual defendants of all profits and benefits obtained by them resulting from their sales of Regeneron stock; and costs and disbursements of the action, including attorneys' fees. On July 28, 2021, the defendants filed a notice of removal, removing the case from the New York Supreme Court to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On September 23, 2021, the plaintiff moved to remand the case to the New York Supreme Court. Also on September 23, 2021, the individual defendants moved to dismiss the complaint in its entirety. On December 19, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied the plaintiff's motion to remand the case and granted a motion to stay the case pending resolution of the proceedings before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts discussed under "Department of Justice Matters" above. As a result of the stay, the court also terminated the Company's motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice. The Company can therefore renew the motion to dismiss upon conclusion of the stay.

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