J&J;’s Alza Sues Mylan to Block Generic Drug

Johnson & Johnson’s Alza Corp. and Janssen Pharmaceutica filed a lawsuit seeking to block Mylan Laboratories Inc. from selling a version of Duragesic, a skin patch that administers painkillers.

Alza, of Mountain View, Calif., said it owns the patent rights to the skin patch. Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, based in Titusville, N.J., is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Duragesic.

The company said the Duragesic patch had worldwide sales of $875 million last year.

Mylan filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration in December seeking approval to sell a generic version of the patch. That application infringes the Alza patent, Alza and Janssen said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday in Pittsburgh, where Mylan is based.

The generic-drug maker filed a statement with the FDA saying its skin patch wouldn’t infringe the Alza patent, and alternatively that the patent is invalid. Mylan officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

Mylan shares fell 11 cents to $32.76, and shares of New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J; rose 2 cents to $57.20, both on the NYSE.