Delhi HC upholds order allowing Dr. Reddy’s to export semaglutide
New Delhi: In a setback for Novo Nordisk, the Delhi High Court on Monday ordered Dr. It upheld a decision allowing Reddy’s Laboratories to produce diabetes and weight-loss drug semaglutide in India and export to countries where the inventor does not hold a patent, rejecting an appeal by the Danish drugmaker.
Judges C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla, Dr. He said he found no reason to interfere with the previous single-judge panel’s decision that allowed Reddy to manufacture semaglutide and export it to off-patent countries.
The decision came just days before semaglutide lost patent exclusivity in India on March 20; This will allow generic drugs to be produced and marketed domestically.
The division bench reserved its decision after the hearing on January 19. Novo’s appeal challenges a December 2, 2025 justice’s decision by Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, which held that, prima facie, semaglutide was not clearly different from earlier inventions covered by a broad “breed” patent.
The single-judge panel ruled that the innovative firm, Dr. It ruled that Reddy’s had failed to make a strong case for granting an injunction to prevent it from exporting the drug to countries where no patent existed. The same assistance was extended to Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on December 10, 2025.
Novo Nordisk and Dr. Reddy’s did not respond to Mint’s questions.
challenge
Novo appealed the single judge decision, arguing that the decision was an error in finding that semaglutide lacked innovation. During the hearing, Novo said the previous patent on which its generic companies relied only covered a broad class of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) molecules and did not specifically disclose or teach semaglutide, which it claimed had a unique chemical structure and long-acting properties.
Viewed from the perspective of a person familiar with the matter, it is prima facie clear that semaglutide, as directed by the division bench, is clearly intelligible from the teachings contained in Genius Patent IN’964 and therefore a cogent challenge to the validity of the litigation patent under Section 64(1)(f) has been raised.
The decision stated, “Since the impugned decision is likely to be approved, we do not deem it necessary to go into any other aspect of the matter, even on this single justification.”
Section 64(1)(f) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970 allows cancellation of patent if the invention is obvious or does not involve an inventive step.
There are two ways this can go. “Novo Nordisk now has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision of the division bench. Secondly, the main case still pending for the single judge will continue on its own merits,” a legal expert said on condition of anonymity.
If Novo wins
If Novo Nordisk wins the case even after the patent expires, it will be liable for compensation from the other party.
The main dispute centers on semaglutide’s patent structure. The primary patent on the molecule expired in September 2024, while the second formulation patent is valid until March 2026. On May 12, 2025, Dr. Reddy challenged the validity of Novo’s second patent in the Delhi High Court, saying it lacked innovation. Soon after, Novo Nordisk, Dr. He filed a patent infringement suit against Reddy’s.
Dr. Reddy’s opposed it under Section 64 of the Patents Act, 1970, calling it an “evergreening” attempt to extend monopoly protection.
The high court’s decision comes at a time when innovators such as Novo Nordisk will be trying to maintain their market share as Indian companies prepare to launch knock-off generics of the blockbuster weight-loss drug this month. The market for GLP-1s was valuable ₹1,446 crore on a rolling annual aggregate basis as of February 2026, according to Pharmarack. More than 50 branded generic versions of semaglutide are expected to be available once the patent expires, Pharmarack said in a March 7 report.
