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The Swiss competition commission (COMCO) has opened an investigation of Novartis over possible unlawful use of a patent to reduce competitive pressure, the Swiss drugmaker confirmed on Thursday, September 15. COMCO conducted an early morning raid on the company on Sept. 13, it said in a statement that did not name Novartis, which subsequently said in its own statement that it was the group under investigation. "The company allegedly attempted to protect its drug for the treatment of skin diseases against competing products by using one of its patents to initiate litigation proceedings," COMCO said in a statement. Novartis said COMCO had started an investigation in collaboration with the European Commission into the assertion of a patent in the broader field of dermatology treatments. "In connection with this investigation, COMCO representatives visited the company headquarters in Basel," it said.

Amgen Inc sued Novartis AG's Sandoz in a federal court in the United States on Monday (May 1), accusing Sandoz's proposed versions of its multibillion-dollar bone-strengthening drugs Prolia and Xgeva of infringing several patents. Amgen asked the New Jersey court to block Sandoz's biosimilars of the drugs until its patents expire. One of the patents named in the complaint does not expire until 2037. Sandoz declined to comment on the lawsuit on Tuesday. Novartis, which is also named in the complaint, is preparing to spin Sandoz off into a standalone company later this year. Amgen's Prolia is used to treat osteoporosis. Xgeva, with the same active ingredient denosumab, treats bone cancer and prevents fractures in bone-cancer patients.