Insurer accuses Janssen of sham lawsuits to stop cancer generic
A US health insurance provider is suing a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson for filing “sham” patent litigation in a bid to stop generic forms of a prostate cancer treatment from entering the market.
In a complaint filed on April 18 at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Blue Cross Blue Shield said Janssen Biotech prevented generic manufacturers from entering the market for more than a year.
The dispute concerns Janssen Biotech’s drug Zytiga (abiraterone acetate), an antiandrogen medication.
Blue Cross said Janssen deliberately kept generic versions of the drug from the market in order to “protect its monopoly” in the market.
It alleged that Janssen deceived the US Patent and Trademark Office when filing patent applications by withholding important information.
In a statement to LSIPR, Janssen said it “stands by its decision to defend the validity and infringement of the relevant patent.
Janssen first received a patent from the drug in 2004 and then an extension in 2014 which would protect it until 2016.
The complaint said that as a result, it was a granted an extension whereas it otherwise may not have been and was able to stop generic rivals from entering the market.
Additionally, the complaint alleged Janssen unfairly used these patents to file patent infringement complaints against several generic companies.
“It’s wrongful conduct delayed generic competition by more than one year – and during that time, Zytiga was among the most profitable drugs sold by Janssen’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson,” the filing said.
“Absent the defendants’ unlawful conduct, generic competition for Zytiga would have entered as early as December 2016 and no later than October 2017,” Blue Cross said.
It added that Janssen’s conduct “has cost purchasers hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharge damages”.
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