- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Bayer Sues Johnson & Johnson Over Alleged Prostate Cancer Drug Misadvertising
Lawsuit alleges Johnson & Johnson made false claims about the efficacy of Bayer's cancer therapy NUBEQA®.
Published on Feb. 24, 2026
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
Bayer has filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Biotech, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Johnson & Johnson made false and misleading claims about the efficacy of Bayer's prostate cancer therapy NUBEQA® in order to promote its own drug ERLEADA®. Bayer claims these assertions were disseminated through a press release and presentations, violating the Lanham Act by making representations about product safety and efficacy that are not supported by the required level of scientific evidence.
Why it matters
The lawsuit highlights growing legal and regulatory scrutiny around promotional practices in the highly competitive oncology drug market, where companies are increasingly facing allegations of selective data interpretation and misleading advertising that could influence clinical decision-making.
The details
According to the complaint, Johnson & Johnson has made false claims about the efficacy of Bayer's prostate cancer therapy NUBEQA®, while promoting the alleged superiority of its own drug ERLEADA®. Bayer argues that these promotional efforts, disseminated through a press release and two presentations, constitute commercial speech intended to drive product adoption and violate the Lanham Act. Bayer contends that the superiority claims are not supported by the level of scientific evidence required by the FDA, as the analysis cited by Johnson & Johnson has multiple alleged methodological flaws, including severe selection bias, inadequate measurement of baseline factors, and a major imbalance in cohort size.
- The lawsuit was filed on February 24, 2026.
- The analysis cited by Johnson & Johnson concluded in June 2025.
The players
Bayer
A multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company that manufactures the prostate cancer therapy NUBEQA®.
Johnson & Johnson
A multinational corporation that develops and markets pharmaceutical products, including the prostate cancer drug ERLEADA®.
Janssen Biotech, Inc.
A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that is also named in the lawsuit.
What’s next
The judge in the case will decide whether to grant Bayer's request to stop Johnson & Johnson from continuing to use the disputed claims and to correct what Bayer describes as misleading advertising.
The takeaway
This lawsuit highlights the growing legal and regulatory scrutiny around promotional practices in the highly competitive oncology drug market, where companies are facing allegations of selective data interpretation and misleading advertising that could influence clinical decision-making.
