Drugmaker Merck & Co. says arbitration will begin in late September in its dispute with Johnson & Johnson over revenue from two blockbuster drugs for rheumatoid arthritis.
The dispute arose when Merck bought Schering-Plough Corp., which has shared billions in revenue with J&J from Remicade and a successor drug, Simponi.
Merck structured its purchase of Schering-Plough as a reverse merger, meaning that Schering-Plough technically was the surviving corporation. That was an attempt to block change-of-control provisions in Schering's contract with J&J.
Johnson & Johnson has argued that those provisions are in force and that it is entitled to Schering-Plough's share of revenue from the drugs — roughly $2 billion a year — plus damages.
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