U.S. judge seeks expert advice on Amgen-Roche license

LOS ANGELES, March 26 (Reuters) - The federal judge overseeing Amgen Inc's (AMGN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) patent infringement case against Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday ordered that an expert be appointed to recommend how to compare dosing and prices of the two companies' anemia drugs.

Last October, a U.S. District Court jury in Boston found that patents on Amgen's anemia drugs were valid and that Roche drug Mircera, which is approved for treatment of anemia in kidney disease patients, infringed three of them.

But Judge William Young has declined to issue a permanent injunction barring U.S. sales of Mircera, and has said he would consider allowing Roche to launch its drug, which is administered less frequently than Amgen's Epogen and Aranesp, if certain terms were met.

Roche last week agreed to Young's suggested conditions for a licensing deal, including payment of a 22.5 percent royalty to Amgen and a Medicare sales price below that of Epogen.

In an order filed on Wednesday, Young said he "continues to grapple with complex issues related to Amgen's request" for a permanent injunction, and ordered the appointment of a "special master" to make recommended findings regarding price parity as well as the dose conversion ratios for Mircera and Epogen.

He gave Amgen and Roche 15 days to submit a list of agreed upon candidates, and said the expert will have 60 days after that to make the requested findings. (Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Brian Moss)