Amgen’s Patent Suit Against Roche OKd

Amgen Inc. can pursue a patent lawsuit that seeks to block Roche Holding from selling the anemia drug Cera in the U.S., a judge ruled Friday, agreeing to a timetable that may lead to a trial as early as May.

U.S. District Judge William G. Young in Boston rejected Roche’s request that the suit be thrown out because Cera isn’t yet sold in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration may decide in February whether to approve the drug, used to boost red blood cells, Amgen said.

Cera would compete with Amgen’s Epogen and Aranesp, which had combined sales of $5.73 billion last year, or 46% of the Thousand Oaks-based company’s total.

Germany’s Fresenius Medical Care, the biggest operator of dialysis centers, agreed Thursday to make Amgen its sole supplier of anemia drugs through 2011, possibly hindering Roche’s entry into the market.

“We’re not surprised that Amgen is doing all that it can to keep market share in the face of potential competition,” Michael Aberman, an analyst for Credit Suisse in New York, said in a note. Aberman, who rates Amgen shares “underperform,” estimates that Roche has an 80% chance of winning the suit.

Geoffrey Meacham, an analyst at JPMorgan Securities Inc. who has an “overweight” rating on Amgen, told clients he expected the firm to “ultimately prevail in court.” But Amgen may not be able to keep Switzerland-based Roche out of the anemia-drug market, he said.