Abbott’s Appeal of $1.67 Billion Verdict

These runaway juries are unreal. They are constantly finding in favor of plaintiffs who are essentially faking injuries instead of expressing gratitude for the life-altering medications pharmaceutical companies make. Abbott Laboratories is now fighting one of these runaway verdicts on appeal after a jury awarded the plaintiff $1.67 billion.

Oh, wait. The Plaintiff was not claiming to be injured. The Plaintiff was pharmaceutical titan Johnson & Johnson who was awarded $1.67 billion for patent infringement regarding the arthritis drug Humira which, ironically is under attack for the side effects it causes and now has a black box warning.

I suggest this defense for Abbott. The FDA approved Humira. If the FDA thought it infringed on a patent, it would have said so. Patent infringement preemption.