Blow for Takeda as Velcade US patent ruled invalid

Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502) suffered a major setback, when US District of Delaware Judge Gregory Sleet ruled against the company on the validity of a patent on its best-selling drug Velcade (bortezomib), according to a report by Bloomberg.

US Patent No 6,713,446 on Velcade, a treatment for multiple myeloma, that expires in 2022 is invalid, Judge Sleet concluded. He agreed with generic-drug makers who said the patent for a formulation of the drug is “the inherent result of an obvious process.” Takeda’s shares plunged 4.6% to 5,690 yen. The ruling means that a generic version of the medicine could enter the market when another patent expires in May 2017.

The drug generated sales of 41.8 billion yen ($340 million) for Takeda in the first quarter of the year. Johnson & Johnson markets the drug outside the USA.