Dr Reddy’s: Delhi HC allows co to make semaglutide for export

The Delhi High Court has upheld a prior order permitting Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories to manufacture and export semaglutide, a diabetes and weight-loss drug, to countries where Novo Nordisk does not hold patent protection. The division bench, comprising Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla, dismissed Novo Nordisk’s appeal, stating it found no grounds to interfere with a single-judge bench’s December 2025 ruling that allowed the export. The court noted that semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, was deemed not sufficiently novel under Section 64(1)(f) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970, which permits patent revocation if an invention lacks an inventive step.

Dr. Reddy’s is preparing to export the drug ahead of the expiration of Novo Nordisk’s secondary patent on 20 March 2026. The company has received regulatory approval to manufacture semaglutide in India and plans to launch 12 million injectable pens domestically once the patent expires, pending regulatory clearance for obesity indications. The ruling aligns with broader industry efforts to introduce generic versions of the blockbuster drug, with over 50 branded generics expected to enter the market as patent protections lapse. The GLP-1 receptor agonist market in India was valued at ₹1,446 crore (moving annual total) as of February 2026 according to market analysis.

Novo Nordisk may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, while the primary patent infringement case remains pending. Dr. Reddy’s has challenged what it terms “evergreening” tactics by Novo Nordisk to extend monopoly rights beyond the primary patent’s expiry as the court observed. The outcome underscores the tension between patent protections and generic drug accessibility in India’s pharmaceutical sector.