NVSEF - Novartis loses appeal for patent on multiple sclerosis drug (updated)

Updated to include the company’s response to the ruling. A U.S. appeals court ruled against Novartis (NYSE:NVS) (OTCPK:NVSEF), dealing a blow to the Swiss drugmaker’s claims in a patent lawsuit related to its blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug, Gilenya. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with the Chinese drugmaker HEC Pharm Co rejecting Novartis’s (NVS) claims for a patent that covers a specific dosage of Gilenya, known as fingolimod in generic terms. A three-judge panel reversed an earlier ruling of the court in a 2-1 vote, reviving HEC Pharm’s efforts to introduce a generic version of the drug. In January, the Federal Circuit upheld a decision by a Delaware court that endorsed Novartis' (NVS) patent and determined HEC's generic infringed the claims. Two judges of the previous panel were part of the latest ruling. Novartis (NVS) said it “intends to vigorously defend the validity of the patent.”. The company thinks that

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Novartis loses appeal for patent on multiple sclerosis drug (updated)