Roch AG subsidiary Genentech filed a lawsuit against Amgen claiming the Thousand Oaks-based company obstructed its investigation of whether the biosimilar Amgen is developing for Genentech’s cancer treatment Avastin violates the company’s patents, according to reports Feb. 20.

Sales for Avastin, a treatment for lung, colon, ovarian and other types of cancer, reached $6.8 billion in 2016. Amgen submitted a proposal for its biosimilar, called ABP 215, to the Food and Drug Administration in November and it was accepted in January.

The suit alleges that Amgen did not provide sufficient information about the manufacture of the product that would allow Genentech to determine whether it should submit a claim for patent infringement within a time period allotted by the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act.

• Contact Marissa Nall at mnall@pacbiztimes.com.