Why Are Natco Pharma & Novo Nordisk Fighting over Weight-loss Patent in Delhi HC?

Indian drugmaker Natco Pharma has filed a lawsuit against Danish medicine manufacturer Novo Nordisk, claiming it hasn’t violated a device or process technology-related patent of the multinational firm. Novo Nordisk is famous for its weight-loss drug Wegovy. The case was heard in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, the Economic Times reported. 

“The court has directed the parties to engage in a ‘pre-litigation mediation’, an attempt to bury the dispute through mutual settlement before the case can be heard on deeper nuances such as non-infringement of patents,” ET reported, citing a source. 

The Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma, through its legal representative, reportedly argued that in the past few months it had reached out to the Danish drugmaker to communicate on its non-infringing patents but received no response. Novo Nordisk launched Wegovy in India in June.

“A clear communication from the innovator may trigger a generic launch of the drug in India, sinking the prospects for Wegovy’s sales and so that may be seen as a delaying tactic,” ET reported, citing a source. 

This development comes months after Novo Nordisk in May sued contract manufacturing companies Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and OneSource Specialty Pharma in the Delhi High Court. The case relates to an alleged violation of Novo Nordisk’s patent on its diabetes medication, semaglutide, sold as Wegovy. Following this, the two companies had given an undertaking that they will neither sell nor market their version of an anti-obesity drug in India pending the outcome of a patent infringement lawsuit. Dr. Reddy’s reportedly told the court that they received a license from the multinational company to manufacture the contested medicine in December 2024 and kickstarted production in April 2025. Currently, Dr. Reddy’s does not hold a licence to sell the drug in India. 

The Danish medicine maker reportedly claimed that the two Indian contract manufacturers were importing large quantities of the semaglutide raw material to make and export the formulations. The Delhi HC, however, had asked Novo Nordisk to submit evidence to back its allegations.