Roche ups royalties to Amgen in bid to get Mircera on US market

Swiss drug major Roche has offered to pay higher royalties of 22.5% (versus 20%) to US biotechnology giant Amgen in order to get its drug Mircera (methoxy polyethylene glycolspoetin beta) for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic renal failure, onto the US market. The action follows a court decision last year that Roche's product infringed certain patents of the US firm and ordering increased royalties to be paid (Marketletter October 29, 2007), which has prevented the product's launch, despite gaining regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.