Kumbaya moments aren't easy to come by in most pharmaceutical litigation.

But with a May bench trial postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, drug companies litigating the validity of patents on a diabetes treatment have jointly agreed to extend the Hatch-Waxman Act's automatic stay against launching a generic product.

Chief U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson of the District of New Jersey signed off Friday on Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. and Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc.'s stipulation. It extends the 30-month stay, previously scheduled to expire Sept. 29, to 120 days after the conclusion of the bench trial, whenever that might be held.