Update 1:45pm: Adds Novo Nordisk comment.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) ADRs pared some earlier gains, though remains up 1%, after the company lost a patent challenge related to the company’s best-selling weight-loss therapy, Wegovy.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Viatris (VTRS) a request for inter pares review of a patent related to semaglutide, the active ingredient in its blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, according to the website of the patent office on Wednesday.
Generic drugmaker Viatris (VTRS) had challenged the validity of three semaglutide patents in an inter partes review. The patent office denied two challenges from Viatris on Monday, sending Novo Nordisk (NVO) ADRs up 1%.
“Earlier today, the USPTO has instituted the petition on US Patent No. 10,335,462,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement emailed to Seeking Alpha. “Novo Nordisk will vigorously defend the company’s intellectual property in this matter. Since the dispute is ongoing, we cannot comment further.”