J&J Wins Ruling Blocking Tolmar’s Copies of Schizophrenia Drug

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit won a federal judge’s ruling upholding a patent for its blockbuster schizophrenia drug Invega Sustenna and blocking Tolmar Inc.’s proposed copy until the patent’s January 2031 expiration.

“By any metric, Invega Sustenna has been a commercial success,” Judge William C. Bryson wrote in an order issued Feb. 26 and unsealed Feb. 28 in the US District Court for the District of Delaware. “And its commercial success is largely driven by the benefits of the patented invention—rapid and sustained efficacy without oral supplementation.”

Invega Sustenna had US sales of $2.9 billion in 2023, 3.4% of J&J’s ...