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ARTICLE · 20 JULY 2026

Skill, Judgment, And The Syringe: Pharmascience v Janssen At The Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled on the patentability of pharmaceutical dosing regimen claims in Pharmascience v Janssen, establishing new legal guidance for determining whether patent claims...

CanadaIntellectual Property
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In the first patent case before the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) since 2017, the SCC has dismissed Pharmascience’s appeal in Pharmascience v Janssen, 2026 SCC 26 and upheld Janssen’s Canadian Patent No. 2,655,335 (the 335 Patent) relating to INVEGA SUSTENNA.

The SCC dealt with a single issue: the patentability of claims directed to use of a pharmaceutical compound or formulation for the treatment of a disease according to a particular dosing regimen. The SCC upheld the conclusion of the lower courts that the patent’s claims were not directed to a method of medical treatment and provided guidance on the legal test to apply for such an analysis.

This decision is now the leading authority in Canada on patentability of methods of medical treatment.

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