Delhi HC Bars Dr. Reddy’s from Selling Ozempic-Like Medicine Amid Novo Nordisk Patent Row

The Delhi High Court on May 29 recorded an undertaking from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories stating that it will not sell its version of an Ozempic-like drug in India for now, according to a Bar and Bench report. This comes amid an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit filed by Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk A/S, which holds the patent for the blockbuster diabetes medication.

The court's interim order restrained Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and OneSource Specialty Pharma from marketing semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy, in India. The court's interim relief follows Novo Nordisk’s claims that Dr. Reddy’s generic version violates its patent protections.

Novo Nordisk alleged that Dr. Reddy’s and its affiliate have infringed its patent by manufacturing and dealing in semaglutide formulations without authorisation. Semaglutide is the key component in Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, marketed globally for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Dr. Reddy's told the court that it had obtained a licence to manufacture the drug in December 2024 and had begun manufacturing the drug in April 2025. However, they clarified not have a licence to sell the impugned drug in India to date.

In a statement, Novo Nordisk said it is actively working to safeguard its intellectual property in India, according to a CNBCTV18 report. The company asserted that its semaglutide patents are protected under Indian law and expressed confidence in continued support for innovation and IP rights. “Such protection encourages companies to invest in developing breakthrough medicines and delivering new treatment options to patients,” it said, while declining to comment further, citing the matter being sub judice.

The court’s intervention comes at a crucial time as Novo Nordisk gears up for the rollout of Wegovy, amid rising global demand for anti-obesity and diabetes treatments.

India’s anti-obesity drug market has grown nearly fourfold—from Rs 133 crore in March 2021 to Rs 576 crore as of March 2025, according to Pharmatrac data, the report said. Ozempic, launched in 2017, is a once-weekly injectable GLP-1 receptor agonist widely prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In recent years, it has also seen rising global demand for off-label use as a weight-loss drug.