Teva wins rights to sell generic version of Risperdal

WASHINGTON A U.S. district court ruled in favor of Teva Pharmaceuticals this week, allowing it exclusive rights to sell copies of Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal (risperidone), an antipsychotic, for six months.

According to Judge Royce Lamberth, the Food and Drug Administration should not have denied Teva the right to be the first on the market after Risperdal’s patent expired. Teva’s competitor Mylan agreed with the FDA and argued that all the generic-drug companies should be able to sell the copies at the same time, according to published reports.

Being able to establish six-month exclusivity is very important for generic-drug companies so they can retain higher profit before competition enters the market and prices fall. The patent on Risperdal will expire on June 29, a major loss to J&J, as it was its best-selling drug with sales of $2.2 billion last year.