J&J Sues Lupin to Block Copies of Erleada Prostate Cancer Drug

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Biotech and Aragon Pharmaceuticals sued Lupin Ltd. on Friday, alleging its proposed copycat of Erleada infringes a patent for the prostate cancer treatment.

The patent, which covers crystalline forms of an androgen receptor modulator, was issued in November 2016 to Aragon and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, a fellow plaintiff, according to complaints filed in the US District Courts for the Districts of New Jersey and Delaware. It expires in June 2033, according to the US Food and Drug Administration’s registry of approved drugs.

Erleada’s active ingredient, apalutamide, is an androgen ...