Divi's Labs shares fall nearly 3% as US court says Novartis cannot block generic of best-selling heart drug

Divi's Laboratories Ltd's shares were trading nearly 3% lower on December 5 as Novartis failed to persuade a US appeals court on Wednesday to halt MSN Pharmaceuticals' proposed generic of Novartis' blockbuster heart drug Entresto.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Delaware federal judge's August decision that found Novartis failed to prove it was likely to win a patent lawsuit against MSN over the drug, removing a roadblock for MSN's launch of what would be the first US Entresto generic.

Divi's Labs has a CDMO contract with Novartis for Entresto.

At 10:10 am on December 5, Divi's Labs shares were trading 2.85% lower at Rs 6,078.6 apiece. The market capitalisation of the stock is Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Its 52-week low is Rs 3,350 and 52-week high is Rs 6,285.45.

Novartis said in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling and is "considering all available options to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights, including further appellate options."

Entresto is Switzerland-based Novartis' best-selling drug, bringing the company more than $6 billion in revenue last year. MSN's version of Entresto was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July.Novartis sued MSN and others seeking to launch Entresto generics in Delaware federal court in 2022 for allegedly infringing a patent that expires in 2026.