J&J Loses Appeal to Block Samsung’s Stelara Biosimilar Drug Copy

Johnson & Johnson failed to prove that the launch of a biosimilar version to its psoriasis drug Stelara will harm the company’s business, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit wasn’t convinced by the drugmaker’s claims that it would face irreparable injury from Samsung Bioepis’s move to launch another biosimilar to Stelara, in addition to the one it’s allowed to launch under a separate agreement with J&J.

“Rarely do courts grant injunctive relief before the plaintiff secures a judgment,” Judge Cheryl Ann Krause said in the opinion for the court. “And even ...