Teva, Viatris Press to Break J&J’s Hold on Schizophrenia Drug

A panel of Federal Circuit judges on Monday questioned whether a dosing method for Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster schizophrenia drug Invega Sustenna was truly innovative or just an obvious tweak ineligible for patent protection.

Units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Viatris Inc. pressed the panel to reverse a lower court decision blocking copies of the drug until 2031.

Judge Sharon Prost challenged the attorney for J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit, expressing surprise that the company argued a decrease in the dosage amount wouldn’t motivate any meaningful difference in the patent claim, and suggesting the change might actually be the patent’s ...