Delhi HC bars Sun Pharma from selling semaglutide in India until Novo's patent expires, but allows exports

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday restrained Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd from selling its generic version of the weight-loss drug semaglutide drug in India until Danish innovator Novo Nordisk’s patent expires in March 2026.

The court, however, permitted Sun Pharma to manufacture and export semaglutide to non-patent countries, extending the same relief it granted Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in a similar dispute earlier this month.

A bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora directed Sun Pharma to file an undertaking within two weeks confirming it would not sell semaglutide in India before the patent expires. The court also issued a summons to Sun Pharma, seeking its response to Novo Nordisk’s plea. The matter was adjourned to 21 February, with the court indicating that the interim arrangement would continue until then.

Wednesday’s developments come a day after Novo Nordisk dragged Sun Pharma to court, seeking urgent orders to block the anticipated launch within 24 hours of Sun’s generic semaglutide drug. With the weight-loss drug just months from losing patent exclusivity in India, Novo Nordisk has intensified its legal campaign against Indian companies preparing to enter the rapidly growing market for weight-loss drugs.

Novo Nordisk’s main semaglutide brands are Ozempic (for type 2 diabetes), Wegovy (for chronic weight management), and Rybelsus (oral tablet for type 2 diabetes).

The order mirrors the court’s 2 December ruling on Novo Nordisk’s lawsuit against Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, in which the judge declined the Danish company’s request for a blanket interim injunction, allowing Dr. Reddy’s to continue exporting semaglutide while restraining domestic sales until the patent expired.

In that case, the court held that Novo Nordisk had not demonstrated a strong prima facie case for interim relief and that any monetary loss could be recovered later if the innovator ultimately succeeded at trial. The court also recorded Dr. Reddy’s undertaking not to sell the drug in India and directed it to disclose manufacturing and export data since April 2025. Novo Nordisk’s counsel indicated that the company planned to challenge the ruling before a division bench the following week.

Huge opportunity

Meanwhile, innovators Novo Norsisk and Eli Lilly are gaining ground in the race to sell these drugs in India. The market for them has grown rapidly, from ₹186 crore in November 2022 to ₹1,047 crore in November 2025, according to data from pharma intelligence platform Pharmarack

Eli Lilly's Mounjaro became the top selling brand in India in October, crossing ₹100 crore in sales just six months after its launch. Nordisk is close on its heels. It announced a price cut for Wegovy last month that has propelled sales, helping it gain a 5% market share in absolute doses in November alone. As of November, Mounnaro held a 86% market share in terms of doses while Wegovy held the rest.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus – a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists. Initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes, it later gained approval for obesity treatment, with clinical studies showing 15-23% weight loss.