Seven generics makers [1] are high-fiving today after a federal judge declared Johnson & Johnson's patent on Alzheimer's med Razadyne invalid. The ruling is the latest development in a long-standing dispute over the patent that started when J&J sued the copycats to keep their versions off the market. Now, J&J says it will appeal [2] the judge's decision, but Barr, for one, says it's going to launch its generics straight away. So does Mylan.

The other generics makers involved are Teva--which is buying Barr [3]--plus Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Par Pharmaceuticals, and units of Actavis and Merck KGaA. Razadyne accounted for $214 million of J&J's 2007 sales.

- read J&J's Ortho-McNeil release [4]
- check out the story [5] in the Star-Ledger
- see the Interactive Investor news [6]
- get the Wall Street Journal article [7]

Related Articles:
FDA holds back approval for J&J schizophrenia med [8]
Genentech, J&J earnings expected to rise [9]
Patent 'cliff' looms for Big Pharma [10]
BMS is lead player in patent-approval race [11]
Does the patent cliff drive innovation? [12]