A federal judge handed Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. a victory Monday in its bid to keep a slew of companies, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Apotex Inc. and Sandoz Inc., from producing generic versions of its blockbuster schizophrenia drug Abilify®. Judge Mary L. Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled that the patent covering Abilify® is valid and enforceable and enjoined the defendants from marketing their copycat versions of the drug until Otsuka's patent expires April 20, 2015. Abilify® is the sixth-largest-selling pharmaceutical in the U.S., and it had more than $3.3 billion in sales in 2009, according to Otsuka. “This is the outcome we were hoping for, and we're very pleased with the result,” said James Monroe, partner at Finnegan, who represents Otsuka.
