Novartis Says Janssen Exaggerates Safety of Psoriasis Med

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. says Johnson & Johnson Inc. subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Co. is deceptively promoting its psoriasis treatment Tremfya. Novartis is asking a court to intervene to stop it.

Novartis sued Janssen in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging Janssen is misrepresenting the safety profile of Tremfya (guselkumab) as superior to Novartis’s competing psoriasis drug Cosentyx (secukinumab). Novartis says Janssen’s conduct violates the federal Lanham Act. The Lanham Act prohibits the use of false or misleading statements or representations of fact in commercial advertising, and establishes a private remedy for any violations.

The companies’ psoriasis drugs ...