Law360 (September 3, 2020, 5:08 PM EDT) -- Amgen Inc.'s recent victory in a patent battle over a drug worth billions of dollars exemplifies why pharmaceutical companies' general counsel don't just support drugmakers, but enable them to innovate and profit, according to Amgen general counsel Jonathan Graham.

"You simply can't invest billions of dollars needed [for research and development of pharmaceuticals] unless you know you're going to get patent protection at the end," he said.

Amgen successfully defended its biopharmaceutical Enbrel, which rakes in $5 billion annually, against a challenge from Novartis AG unit Sandoz Inc., which tried to market a biosimilar version of the drug. A Federal Circuit panel affirmed Amgen's victory in July.

Graham's varied and critical work at Amgen has landed him among 13 corporate counsel named Legends in Law by the Burton Awards this year. The former Williams & Connolly LLP litigation partner was nominated by Sidley Austin LLP partner Vernon Winters, who said Graham shows disciplined judgment in the face of uncertainty.

"Jon has, with a calm and steadying hand, guided his organization through some of its most challenging situations," Winters wrote. "He holds himself, his in-house team, and his outside counsel to the highest professional and ethical standards. And he never loses sight of the often-overlooked fact that law is a profession and that, at its core, it serves the public good."

Graham was slated to be honored in person at the Burton Awards' June ceremony at the Library of Congress, but the event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The next ceremony is scheduled for June 14, 2021. Law360 is a sponsor of the Burton Awards.

Graham received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1987 and joined Williams & Connolly the following year. He spent 16 years there, becoming a litigation partner before a headhunter lured him into going in-house at General Electric as the company's vice president of litigation and legal policy.

From there, he jumped to science and technology conglomerate Danaher Corp. as its general counsel. He spent nine years building the company's legal department from the ground up, he said. An offer from Amgen came just as he had become satisfied with his department, so he left to become Amgen's general counsel in 2015.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Amgen has been concerned with protecting the health of its 23,000 employees worldwide while contributing its antibody and immunology expertise to research. The company is also working to maintain its supply and delivery pipelines to continue producing its medications and getting them to patients, Graham said.

The company said its anti-inflammatory drug Otezla is being tested as a potential treatment for adults with COVID-19.

Graham said he is honored to be in his current role during this crisis.

"Many, many people are jumping into this fight, and it's going to take the whole industry worldwide to do that," Graham said. "We have to take as many shots on goal as possible, and that is very much true in drug development."

--Editing by Kelly Duncan and Jill Coffey.

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